


Best Laid Plans

by sultrysweet



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-06
Updated: 2014-11-21
Packaged: 2018-01-18 08:51:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 119,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1422133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sultrysweet/pseuds/sultrysweet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Being in Neverland isn't a walk in the park for Emma or Regina as they struggle to find and save their son Henry. Rated M for later chapters. Eventual Swan Queen</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Decided to start posting my Swan Queen stories I have over on fanfic.net while I have the time. This is the first one I'm adding aside from That Holiday Magic. Hope you like it!

The Jolly Roger erupted from beneath the sea, though none of its passengers were drowned or drenched. The Charmings, Hook, Rumpelstiltskin, Regina, and Emma had come through a somewhat violent green portal. The only people affected by the strange experience were the Charmings and, of course, their daughter Emma. Though the blonde had been through a portal or two, she didn’t travel realms frequently and she didn’t think she’d ever get used to the feeling of portal hopping. It certainly wouldn’t be an activity she’d take up by choice if it wasn’t life or death or didn’t involve bringing her son home.

“Everyone alright,” Charming asked.

The only sound at sea was the small waves crashing against the ship.

Though the question was addressed to all of them, Charming stared straight at Emma and the blonde knew he only cared for her answer.

The rest of them grunted or grumbled in response.

“Yeah,” Emma breathlessly said with a nod.

Rumple dusted his hands together as he limped toward the center of the deck to look at the globe he’d brought along for the trip.

Regina ran a hand through her shoulder length hair before she stepped away from her post at starboard and followed Rumple.

“Well? Are we close,” Regina asked with notable concern.

Rumple flashed gritted teeth, his expression almost a wince, as he studied the blood drawn map of Neverland presented in the globe.

“Afraid not, dreary. We’ve got a ways to go before we get to Henry.”

Regina frowned as worry quickly filled her chocolate brown eyes. She stared at the globe and tried to understand all that stood between her and Henry.

Everyone but Hook surrounded the globe and squinted at the murky image created by Rumple’s swirling blood.

“Here’s where they’ve taken Henry,” Rumple pointed to the globe’s main focus.

“And where are we,” Snow asked as she looked from the globe to Rumple.

“We’d need a locator spell for that,” Rumple informed her though he didn’t look at her. “We can track where Henry is simply by the blood I provided, but we won’t have an accurate placement of ourselves.”

“You’ve got magic in this world, right,” Charming asked as he took a step toward the globe and kept his focus on Rumple.

“You don’t want to use magic here unless absolutely necessary,” Regina explained.

“Why is that,” Charming asked as he shifted his attention to the brunette.

“Using magic attracts the most unsavory of creatures here. Not to mention alert Peter Pan of our arrival. We’ll be lucky to get through the night without any trouble considering the portal we came through,” Regina continued.

“So…magic is like a big neon sign saying ‘come and get it’,” Emma asked.

Regina looked at the blonde and nodded.

“If anyone gets word of our presence,” Rumple started. “There’s no telling who will come for us.”

“Well, I’ve only heard the Disney version of this story,” Emma said as she looked between Rumple and Regina. “What else do we have to worry about besides the apparently evil Peter Pan?”

“Bottom feeders,” Regina blatantly stated.

“King Triton’s kingdom exists somewhere below these waters,” Hook added from his place at the wheel.

“No doubt Ursula will be among it,” Regina finished.

“Um, no offense, but…aren’t you friends with her,” Emma asked. “I would think she’d be your best friend considering the similarities between you two.”

Regina rolled her eyes.

“Of course you’d think that. No, we’re not friends. I don’t even know her. Only of her reputation.”

Regina locked eyes with Emma before she continued.

“Don’t think for one second she won’t take you down to her sea castle, string you up, and toy with you.”

Regina watched Emma stare at her in disbelief though the blonde clearly tried to process the information anyway.

 _Most likely using that “superpower” of hers,_ Regina thought.

She turned her attention to Snow as she displayed a serious look that told the raven haired woman it was a strong possibility.

Snow gulped.

Charming clenched his jaw and narrowed his eyes as he glared at Regina.

“If this is a scare tactic,” he started only to be cut off.

“It’s a warning,” Regina flatly said. “She should know the dangers of this world.”

“You could be lying,” he argued.

“About Ursula,” Regina asked with a chuckle. “If anything, I’m sugar-coating.”

“No, _that_ I believe. You wouldn’t have any trouble lying about knowing her, though. If you so much as _think_ about conspiring with her to get rid of Emma-”

“Relax. You have my word I’m not going to get rid of her.”

“Your word doesn’t mean much,” Snow piped up. “You’ve lied to us plenty of times before and I’d go as far as to call you a master of manipulation.”

Regina scoffed.

“Of the three people on this ship that haven’t exactly been on your side, I’m the least of your concern.”

“As much fun as this little squabble is,” Rumple interrupted. “Ursula isn’t our problem. If she _does_ become a problem, however, we can revisit this subject then. For now, I suggest we organize sleeping arrangements and get some rest.”

“Fair enough,” Charming agreed after a moment, his eyes never leaving Regina.

Emma looked between her father and Regina before she walked behind the brunette and moved toward Hook.

“Refresh my memory,” Emma started as she climbed the stairs. “What’s the room situation like?”

“Two rooms not including mine, which is off limits,” Hook answered.

Everyone but Rumple turned their attention to Hook and Emma before the pirate continued.

“Unless you’re in the mood for a little Shiver Me Timbers,” Hook grinned.

He chuckled as his eyes left Emma to look at Charming.

Charming growled as he tried to lunge at Hook. Snow pressed an arm to his chest to stop him when Emma spoke up.

“I’m gonna take a break from…all this,” Emma gestured around the ship though her hands seems to focus on those who joined her on the quest to save Henry instead of Neverland as a whole.

Emma walked past the others and went to the hatch that led below deck.

“I think we all should get some rest,” Charming said after a moment as he wrapped an arm around Snow’s shoulders.

“Someone should stay out here with Hook, take the first watch,” Snow added and formed her last words into a question.

“We’ll take a look at the rooms,” Charming started. “Then I’ll come back up and keep an eye on things.”

Regina and Snow nodded.

“Good,” Rumple said. “Don’t leave me alone with _him_ unless you want blood on your hands.”

He limped over to the hatch and Charming sighed as he turned to Snow.

“This is going to be a long trip, isn’t it,” he rhetorically asked, though he’d stated it like a discouraging fact.

“If you’ll trust me enough,” Regina started. “Come get me when you’re tired and I’ll take the second shift.”

Regina breezed past them, not waiting for a response, and disappeared under the deck. She stepped down the short ladder and peered down the hallway in both directions. To her right, there was a large wooden door marked “Captain’s Quarters” and a moderate, though not immense, room adjacent to it that was unmarked.

She went toward the mystery room, the door ajar, and peeked inside. It was an infirmary complete with an exam chair in the center of the room, a sink without a faucet, and several organized medical supplies scattered about on countertops and inside the few cabinets there were.

Once she caught a glimpse, Regina turned on her heels and slingshot her way to the opposite end of the hall. There seemed to be more than two rooms, however. Having only two rooms being something she thought she’d heard Hook say before he’d invited Emma into his room for a booty call. When she looked inside the rooms, though, she found only ropes and nets along with a few things to help maintain the ship.

With a frown, she turned a corner and found a small hallway with three rooms. At the end of the hallway there was only the option of turning right, but Regina didn’t bother to look any further than the last room on the left.

The one room that resided on the right was a bathroom, but it wasn’t at all up to Regina’s standards. It was more like an outhouse with more space and a slightly grimy mirror. But it would have to do considering the fact that they were on a ship and there could have not been a bathroom at all.

Straight across the narrow hall, she saw Rumple through the open door as he inspected the almost queen sized cot. He ran a finger over the thin white linen that covered it and swiped his finger up to eye level when he reached the pillow. He scrunched up his face in disgust and rubbed his index finger and thumb together to get rid of whatever filth he’d apparently collected.

Regina ignored him and went to the undiscovered room, the last room on the left. She leaned against the doorway and watched the blonde move within it.

Emma climbed up the end of a bunk bed and crawled across the mattress until her head hovered above the pillow. She turned to her side and collapsed on the top bunk. She rolled onto her back and sighed as she rested one hand on her stomach and reached up to touch the ceiling with the other.

“Since Rumple has taken an interest in the other room, I have no idea where my parents are going to sleep,” Emma tiredly said.

Regina was slightly stunned that she’d said anything. She didn’t think the younger woman had spotted her in the doorway. Emma certainly hadn’t shown that she had.

“But I thought you’d want the bottom bunk. That way you don’t have to climb into bed, you can just slip into it,” Emma added.

“Thank you,” Regina awkwardly smiled. “Though I doubt Rumple will stay in the other room. He seems to have an issue with the sheets.”

Emma smiled as her eyes stayed trained on the ceiling while she picked at bubbly paint specks.

“He didn’t like the amount of dust on the desk either,” Emma lightly laughed. “Guess he’s more particular with living conditions than Mayor Regina ‘If It’s Not to My Liking, You’re Doing It Wrong’ Mills.”

“I’m sure you can come up with a shorter title for my preference of order and cleanliness, dear,” Regina said as she tried to purse her lips in an attempt to hide her small smile.

Emma turned her head and finally looked at Regina.

“Queen of Anal Retentiveness?”

Regina rolled her eyes and stepped inside the room as she folded her arms over her chest.

“And here I thought you could do better.”

Emma dropped her extended hand to her stomach to join the other.

“I’ll have better insults when I’m not exhausted.”

“Is that a promise?”

Emma stared at the ceiling again before she answered.

“It’s a hope.”

Regina looked around the room as she uncrossed her arms and brought them down to her sides. There was nowhere else to go but the bunk bed. She uncomfortably shifted from foot to foot as she weighed her options.

After a long moment of awkward silence, Regina took a couple steps toward the beds. She kept a small distance between herself and the blonde. She cleared her throat as she stared down at the floorboards then spoke.

“Are you tired from the magic? In the mine? Or is this about Henry.”

Emma hesitated before she turned her head to look at Regina again.

“Both,” she softly replied.

Regina nodded.

“Well, the magic is a quick fix,” Regina said. “Get a good sleep, six hours minimum, and don’t try any spells for the next twenty-four hours. As for Henry, it’ll take longer, but…we’ll find him.”

“Do you even believe that?”

“I have to,” Regina admitted. “If I don’t, I’ve got nothing.”

“Then let’s make a deal,” Emma started as she rolled onto her side and propped herself up on an elbow. “You can be the positive one and I’ll be the brooding one that kicks ass and takes names as a coping mechanism.”

Regina tilted her head and looked around the room before she took one more step toward the beds.

“Will you settle for me being the _occasionally_ positive one and you can just focus on finding Henry? Everything else, what happened in the mine, having your parents in your life, and whatever else that might be affecting you stays in Storybrooke.”

“I want to do that. I really do, but…it’s too much. There’s just…” Emma trailed off then stared into Regina’s eyes. When she remembered who she was starting to open up to, she shook her head and fell onto her back on the bed. “Never mind.”

“Fine,” Regina said as she took the last few steps toward the beds and dipped her head below the top bunk.

She eased herself onto the bottom bunk and closed her eyes as she let out a deep breath.

“Regina?”

“Hmm.”

“I’m gonna kill Greg and Tamara.”

*** * ***

After what felt like only a few minutes, Regina slowly awoke to the sound of Emma thrashing around above her.

Emma whimpered and yelped as she tossed and turned. At one point, Regina thought she’d heard the blonde say, “I love you”, but there was no mistaking the cry that came next.

“No!”

Regina’s eyes shot open and her entire body stiffened with her back to the door.

Before she could check on the other woman or even think about shouting at her to wake up so she didn’t have to hear what sounded like a nightmare, someone rushed into the room and went straight to the bunk bed.

“Emma? Emma!”

As if Regina needed another complication, Snow had come to her daughter’s aid.

“Emma, wake up,” Snow urged as she reached over the edge of the top bunk and shook the blonde.

Regina slowly rolled onto her back as Emma gasped and shot awake with a singular burst of motion heard and felt from the bottom bunk.

“It was just a bad dream, sweetie,” Snow soothed Emma as she ran her hand through straight blonde hair.

Emma took a few ragged breaths and shook her head.

“It was real. All of it. I… The portal. Tamara. He was…he was right there.”

“I know, but we’ll get Henry back soon.”

“No. Not Henry. Neal.”

Regina furrowed her brow. She hadn’t thought to ask about Henry’s father. She’d heard Emma tell Henry he was gone, but she wasn’t sure what that meant. At least not in the entirety of how that came to be.

“Oh, Emma. I’m so sorry,” Snow softly said.

“I grabbed his hand when he fell. I had him! All he had to do was wait for the portal to close and we would’ve been okay. …But he let go.”

Suddenly, Emma started to cry.

“I told him not to let go,” Emma said before she sobbed. “But he did.”

Snow placed a foot on the edge of Regina’s bed and pulled herself onto the top bunk with Emma.

“Shh, shh, shh. It’s okay,” Snow assured her as she pulled Emma’s head onto her shoulder. “It’s going to be okay. He did it to save you, Emma. He loved you and he loved Henry. He didn’t want anything terrible to happen to either one of you.”

Emma continued to sob as Snow rubbed her arm.

“I know you’re much too old for me to be doing this,” Snow started. “But you let me know when it stops helping.”

“Okay,” Emma quietly choked out as she nodded against Snow’s shoulders.

“Snow,” Charming’s booming voice called out from the next room.

He hurried over to Emma and Regina’s room when he didn’t get any response and sighed with relief when he saw his wife and daughter together. His expression quickly changed to one of concern as he saw Snow’s sad, pained face while tears escaped Emma.

“What happened,” he asked as he slowly approached the bed.

“Emma had a bad dream about Neal,” Snow informed him.

Charming’s face fell as sympathy overtook him.

Regina got up and removed herself from the bottom bunk.

“I’ll be on the deck,” Regina said to Charming. “You and Snow can have the rest of the night off and I’ll stay up there with Hook.”

Regina passed him to leave, but he grabbed he wrist and spun her around to face him before she could exit.

“Thank you,” he said.

Regina gave a single nod and Charming let go of her. She looked over his shoulder at Emma in Snow’s arms and took a deep breath as she maintained a mask of indifference. She turned to the door again and left.

When she joined Hook, he immediately grinned at her.

“Ah, won’t this be fun. You and me together again.”

“You so much as try and double cross me while I’m trying to find my son and I will end you,” Regina growled.

He chuckled as he took his eyes off her to look at the vast sea ahead.

Regina made her way to the globe as she stared at the point meant to represent Henry’s location. She let out a long breath she hadn’t necessarily been holding, but definitely needed to release.

“You ever been to Neverland, Regina,” Hook asked as he tilted the wheel slightly to the left with one hand, his eyes still on the water.

“No, but I’ve heard the stories,” Regina flatly said as she continued to stare at the globe like it had her in a sad, dark trance.

“Ah, but stories aren’t the real thing. Stories don’t prepare you for what might come next,” he glumly informed her.

As Regina narrowed her eyes, she pulled herself out of the trance and eyed Hook.

“Are you going to tell me a bedtime story then… _Captain_ ,” Regina asked with authority.

When she said his title, it dripped from her parted lips in a belittling tone.

“Not at all, _Your Majesty_ ,” he spat back. “It was more of me thinking out loud.”

“Well, stop. I don’t care about your thoughts unless they’re actually helpful, which is rare.”

Hook ignored her insult and paused before he spoke.

“How’s our blonde friend?”

Regina set her jaw and held it shut tight for a moment. The image of Emma in Snow’s arms, crying over a lost love, popped in front her of eyes. She took a deep breath and blinked away the fresh memory.

“She’s had better days,” Regina vaguely replied.

“Surely,” Hook nodded. “This trip, being here…it’ll be a nightmare from Hell come to life for her.”

Regina refrained from nodding though she agreed with his statement. Instead, she turned away from the globe and walked to the front of the ship. She rested a hand on the wooden banister and studied the quiet water.

For countless minutes, Regina stood there. She listened to the waves lap and smack against the ship as the indigo sky gave her an unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach.

*** * ***

Emma woke the next morning with her mother scrunched up behind her on the twin size mattress. Snow had a hand lazily draped over Emma’s waist as she continued to sleep, but Emma put that to an end as she slowly sat up.

She gently took Snow’s hand and moved it off herself. She let go and it fell onto the bed between the two women with a soft thump.

The pixie haired woman remained undisturbed and Emma took that as her cue to slide down to the makeshift ladder she’d used to get onto the top bunk in the first place. She contorted her face as she attempted to silently remove herself from the bed. She occasionally looked over her shoulder as she moved closer to the ladder to ensure she hadn’t stirred her mother. Successful in that regard, she swung a leg over the foot of the bed and climbed down.

When her feet hit the floor, she brushed her knuckles under her eyes to wipe away dried makeup that stained her face when she’d been crying the previous night. As she blinked away the sleepy haze from her vision, she noticed her father asleep in the bottom bunk. He was on his back, mouth partially open though he wasn’t snoring. After a moment, she turned to the door and slipped out. She immediately disappeared into the bathroom and flicked her fingers through her hair. It was still messy but looked presentable. She dabbed and swiped under her eyes to get rid of the remnants of misplaced makeup and, after a minute or so, she was cleaned up.

She tip-toed through the hallway and went up to the deck. Hook was no longer at the wheel when she emerged from the hatch, but Regina was wrapped in a thick rope net by the globe. Her eyes were closed and her chest rhythmically rose and fell.

Emma observed her as she walked toward the sleeping brunette. She glanced around the still ship and stared at the calm water. She furrowed her brow and stopped before the curled up Regina as she felt a twist in her stomach.

She shook her head as if to shake off the uncomfortable feeling, the sky cloudy and gray. She turned her attention to Regina and reached out for the older woman. She touched Regina’s shoulder and gently shook her. She had barely rocked Regina back and forth a second time before the brunette jolted awake.

Regina tensed when she felt the hand on her shoulder. She whipped her head to the side and found herself staring up into green eyes. Her body relaxed when she realized it was Emma and closed her eyes as she sighed with relief.

“Sorry,” Emma started. “Didn’t mean to startle you.”

“It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have fallen asleep,” Regina groggily said as she sat up.

“It seemed planned if you ask me,” Emma flashed a small smile. “You look pretty cozy, bundled up under that net.”

Regina grabbed the net and flailed with it for a few moments before she flung it off herself.

Emma chuckled as she watched Regina struggle, but held out her hand when the brunette tried to stand.

Without hesitation, or much acknowledgement, Regina accepted Emma’s hand and pushed off the other woman’s hand. When Regina stood firmly on two feet, both she and Emma made a face and looked at each other.

It dawned on them how similar the situation was to that of when the wraith had nearly sucked out Regina’s soul and Emma had helped her up.

The memory played in Emma’s mind at the same time it crept to the forefront of Regina’s and after a split second of realization, both women pulled their hands away from each other like they’d been shocked.

Before either one of them could say anything in an attempt to side-step the awkward moment, a loud thud sounded from below deck. They snapped their heads to the hatch, but didn’t move toward it to investigate until they heard grunts and incoherently growled words.

Without another word, both of them rushed over to the hatchway. Emma bent down and pulled it open. She extended a foot to start her descent to the brig when she jumped back in surprise as two angry figures slammed into the ladder.

Regina peered down at the figures from behind Emma and shook her head when she realized what she saw.

“Really,” Emma asked before she sighed and threw up her hands in defeat.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

Rumpelstiltskin had Hook pinned against the ladder under the hatchway, his cane held against Hook's wrist as he tried to choke the pirate.

Hook seemed to know Rumple's playbook considering that his arm protected his throat from Rumple's cane. He grunted as he had to fight harder against Rumple when the imp pushed against him in an attempt to weaken the younger man.

“Hey,” Charming yelled as he rushed to get to them. “Come on!”

Charming pulled Rumple away from Hook by the shoulder and spun the pawn shop owner around to face him.

“We've only been out here for a day and you're starting petty fights,” Charming asked.

“He started it,” Rumple insisted through gritted teeth as he carelessly waved behind him at Hook.

Snow puffed out an incredulous sigh behind Charming.

“Seriously,” Charming asked, a little annoyed.

“What,” Rumple started. “I simply walked in front of his room on the way out of mine and he accused me of stealing his alcohol.”

“You did,” Hook exclaimed.

“Please,” Rumple shook his head before he turned to Hook. “We both know you drank it all.”

“I have a limited supply on this ship. I wouldn't be foolish enough to drink all of it.”

“Clearly you don't how foolish you actually are,” Rumple quipped.

“That's it,” Hook said as he lunged at Rumple.

Rumple raised his cane in defense, the bottom of it pointed outward at Hook as the pirate shooed it away.

Hook batted it away again and again in an attempt to get at Rumple, but the older man continued to push the cane in his direction as though to stab him with it.

“What are you gonna do,” Emma asked from the deck as she stared down at the altercation. “Skewer him with your cane?”

“Can we _please_ get back to finding my son,” Regina loudly asked from behind Emma on deck, annoyed and angry as she glared down at them after an agitated eye roll.

Charming pulled Rumple away from Hook again and pushed him down the corridor toward Snow.

Snow's eyebrows almost shot into her hairline in surprise as she stepped aside to keep Rumple from running into her. She did, however, hold out her hands to help stop him from falling on his face as he stumbled forward. Her hands barely touched his shoulders before he shook her off and leaned against his side on the opposite wall, away from Snow.

Emma looked back at Regina with an apologetic look, though she didn't like that Regina still referred to Henry as  _hers_ and  _only_ hers _._ She thought given the circumstances Regina would know Emma was willing to fight as relentlessly as need be to find and protect Henry. She knew that made him hers as much as it made him Regina's, that and the fact that she too loved the kid.

“I didn't have a lick of my whiskey since we got on board and I know I still had a full bottle from my last trip. Now? There's nothing left,” Hook explained as he fanned out the collar of his coat then smoothed out the rest of his outfit. “Only a drop that landed on the floor when I found the bottle tipped over on my desk, which I also haven't touched since my last trip.”

“I didn't touch your whiskey. I wouldn't be caught dead anywhere near your things.”

“Yeah? Is that why you took the room next to the Captain's Quarters? It's an _infirmary_. No one should be sleeping there and yet you seemed to make it your home right next to my room.”

“There weren't any other beds, idiot,” Rumple snarled as he faced Hook again. “The exam bed is the only one left on this horrendous ship.”

“First you chug down my whiskey and now you insult my ship?”

“If you can even call this falling apart piece of wood a ship.”

“Fine,” Hook bitterly spat as he raised his hands in surrender. “Go ahead and make your jokes. I'll always know you're just a desperate man who couldn't get the mother of his child to love him. Coward.”

Rumple growled and threw himself at Hook.

Charming intercepted him and held Rumple back.

“ _She_ was the coward,” Rumple yelled. “She didn't even try to raise Bae! She gave up on us to be with some filthy pirate who could only ever commit to the sea. You love this ship more than you could ever have loved her, more than she could ever have loved you.”

“You're wrong, mate. It's _you_ she couldn't love,” Hook calmly, coolly said.

“Hey!”

Everyone stopped fussing and looked up at the voice responsible for startling all of them.

Emma stood above the four of them with a tight expression. Suddenly, everyone below deck could see the dark circles under her eyes and the unnatural paleness of her skin. She looked tired and one hundred percent fed up.

Charming let go of Rumple and the older man flattened out his suit before he focused on Emma again like the rest of them.

“Henry is out there somewhere with two people who tortured and almost _killed_ the person you guys still see as the Evil Queen. If you think she's so powerful and still managed to face her own death at the hands of those two, there's no telling what's going to happen to an eleven year old kid that isn't familiar with any world but the one we just came from. He's alone and in _their_ hands and if we do find him, he better not be dead because of meaningless arguments like this. I promise you that if that's the case, you'll be as dead as the people that took my son from me.”

Charming and Snow stared up at their daughter with worry and shock. Everyone, including Regina, felt the absolute truth behind her words. The two of them heard the Evil Queen in their daughter's promise and nothing at all like the little girl, or rather woman, let alone the savior they thought Emma to be.

“Good for you, deary,” Rumple said as he pushed Hook aside and started to climb up the ladder. “A little vengeance goes a long way.”

“No,” Charming and Snow loudly refuted the idea.

Emma furrowed her brow when she heard a familiar voice behind her mirror that same word in sync with her parents.

Within seconds, all eyes were on Regina as Rumple joined them on the deck.

Rumple chuckled.

“Concerned about our little princess, are we,” Rumple knowingly, confidently teased.

Regina ground her teeth, her jaw tightly clenched as she looked down at the floorboards and collected herself.

“Henry doesn't need her looking for revenge,” Regina answered as she tried to shrug it off.

“Oh, right,” Rumple gave his infamous crocodile grin. “Because he's already got one mother out for blood.”

Hook crawled onto the deck followed by Snow then Charming. Snow frowned and quizzically looked over Regina when she noticed the brunette hadn't argued or refuted the claim.

“Regina? Are you...” Snow trailed off, hesitant to hear the truth. “Are you going to kill them?”

Regina boldly met Snow's gaze before she answered in a low, gravelly voice.

“I'll do whatever it takes to get Henry back.”

Charming groaned and raised his hands above his head in defeat.

“I can't believe this,” Charming angrily stated before he dropped his hands to his sides with a slap to his outer thighs. “All this time you've been trying to convince us you're changing and now you're prepared to slaughter all of Neverland? You'll never change, Regina. Don't fool yourself into thinking that and don't expect to fool me into believing it either.”

Regina clenched her fists at her sides as she tried not to feel hurt by Charming's harsh statement.

“Hey,” Emma barked as she stepped in front of Regina as Charming tried to get close to the other woman. “Back off. We've been through a lot the last twenty-four hours, okay? Cut her some slack. That part of her, the dark and vindictive part, could actually help us. If she's willing to go there, we should be thankful. I don't know about you, but I certainly wouldn't want to dig myself into that dark place again. Not when I tried so hard to get out of it like she has.”

Snow shook her head.

“How can you be okay with this,” she asked Emma.

“Look, I don't know where Henry is and I don't know much about this world, but I do know that the best way to find Henry is if Regina and I work together on this.”

“That doesn't mean you have to accept the darkness in her heart,” Snow argued, though she sounded more like Mary Margaret.

“You're right,” Emma agreed.

Hook retracted the anchor as he avoided the conversation.

Regina sadly stared down at the ground and almost looked defeated.

“I don't _have to_ accept it, but I _do_ accept it.”

Regina looked up and stared slack jawed at the back of Emma's head.

Rumple chuckled in the background as she watched the scene unfold.

Hook took the wheel and started to sail onward.

“You don't have to agree with me,” Emma continued. “But I'm hoping you care enough about me to respect my decision.”

Charming and Snow sighed as they looked at each other then distrustfully at Regina before their eyes found Emma again.

“Leave Regina alone the rest of the trip, okay,” Emma continued. “If you so much as even _try_ to condemn her for the choices she makes here or the things she's done in the past, we're done talking.”

“You're...” Snow started, taken aback. “You're choosing Regina over us?”

“No, I'm choosing us as a team, the four of us. If you can't deal with that then....I won't be able to deal with you. Got it?”

Regina felt a mix of emotions between pride, safety, and unworthiness toward Emma's sentiments as she stood behind the Savior.

“Now lets get back to saving Henry,” Emma said as she headed toward the globe.

Emma tried to check their progress but could only see the outlined, glowing area that vaguely told her where Henry was taken. She sighed and moved her hand toward the map. Her fingertip touched the spot Henry supposedly was and sent a small ripple across the globe from the contact like when a finger was pressed to a non-touch computer screen. Her expression fell from tight and angered to sad and partially defeated.

Rumple snickered as he slowly walked around Regina like a prowling panther.

Snow and Charming followed after Emma and paid little to no mind to Rumple or Regina.

Rumple stopped behind Regina, close enough for the brunette to feel his breath on the back of her neck. He grinned as he leaned in and darkly purred her ear.

“Charming is right, you know. You'll never be the person you're trying to be. The darkest parts of you are too strong for you to ever be one of them.”

Regina could feel the magic in her spark to life. She could feel all her power and all her anger rise up to the surface as purple magic crackled at her fingertips. As upset as Rumple made her, she couldn't control the worn look on her face as unshed tears formed in her eyes. She allowed the dark truth to fill her mind and her black heart.

“You'll never be good, Regina. Just as you said they'll never accept me, they won't ever accept you.”

“Emma accepts me,” Regina said with a sliver of hope in her voice as her magic diminished.

Rumple chuckled with dark amusement.

“Miss Swan will soon realize she made a mistake defending you, deary. It's a foolish thing to think you'll change, as Charming said. It's even more foolish to think she'll ever really be on your side."

Regina took a deep breath and released it in a long sigh to calm herself.

Rumple furrowed his brow as he looked over her with a puzzled expression. She walked around to stand in front of her, a little to her left, and read the expression on her face.

“My, my, deary,” Rumple started as his eyes widened in realization. “I wouldn't put all your eggs in one basket. Whatever you're thinking about her, it will never happen.”

A large grin slowly spread across his face. It reached his eyes before the corners of his mouth could reach his ears. He walked away like she meant nothing, as if she were gum stuck to the bottom of his shoe.

Regina closed her eyes and tried not to let the imp get to her, though their history proved it was all he ever did.

Snow placed a hand on Emma's shoulder as she came to stand behind her daughter in front of the globe.

“We're sorry, Emma,” Snow started. “We haven't exactly been making this any easier on you.”

“No, you haven't,” Emma flatly said as she refused to look at them, her gaze solely set on the assumed location of her son.

Emma pulled her finger away from the globe and brought it down to her side as she continued to stare.

“You know we want to find Henry as much as you do, right,” Charming asked as he placed a hand on Emma's other shoulder.

Emma hesitated a minute with a blank expression on her face before she nodded.

Charming used his hand on her shoulder to turn Emma toward him.

Snow let her hand fall from Emma's other shoulder as he did so and gave a small smile meant to assure Emma they meant what they said.

“We're going to do our best to bring him home,” Charming said as he looked straight into Emma's eyes to ensure she saw the sincerity in his.

Emma stared at Charming for a long moment before she looked to Snow. She said nothing to either of them then turned and walked to starboard.

Snow and Charming worriedly looked at each other before Charming watched the blonde lean against the side of the ship and stare out at the water. He sighed then held Snow back when she tried to step toward their daughter.

Snow looked back at Charming and he shook his head before he removed his hand from her bicep.

Emma frowned as she watched tiny waves roll across the vast sea and occasionally smack against the ship. It seemed to be all she could do while she impatiently waited to get to Henry. She sighed as she tried not to break down and cry. It wasn't like her to cry and she really didn't want to do it in front of everyone on the ship with her.

She closed her eyes and let the breeze glide across her face and gently flow through her hair. She took a deep breath and tried to clear mind. She heard the almost rhythmic sound of the water hit the ship again and again. Then a second sound overlapped that of the waves. A woosh in the water caused Emma to quizzically knit her brow, her eyes still closed. After a moment of only hearing the water against the ship again, she relaxed.

Her calm didn't last.

A flop in the water followed by a small thud against the ship raised Emma's suspicions enough for her to open her eyes that time. She scrunched up her face as she tried to find the source of the sound and looked over the side of the ship. She intently stared down into the dark depths of the sea when a sliver of something skimmed past the surface, not close enough for Emma to identify. It quickly disappeared as it moved lower, into the darkness the deeper parts of the water offered.

“What the hell,” Emma quietly asked no one in particular as she leaned further over the side of the Jolly Roger, even more puzzled.

Regina started toward the brig as Rumple's words sunk in.

Blonde hair cascaded over the front of her shoulders and swayed in her face with the breeze as the ship rocked with the gentle current. She held the side of the ship with both hands as she tried to find the thing she saw only a few seconds ago. After a quick moment before she decided her eyes had played tricks on her, another sliver of something hurried along the side of the ship. It passed closer to the surface, a dark gray with maybe a hint of green slithered into her line of vision.

“Holy shit!”

Emma straightened up as she pulled her head and hair away from the water. She pressed a hand to her stomach when nausea hit her as the thing disappeared below the surface and reappeared moments later with a friend.

Emma's exclamation caused Regina to freeze in place., still a ways from the hatchway.

“Emma,” Snow frowned, a little concerned as she watched her daughter slightly back away from the side of the ship.

Snow took a cautious step forward as Regina, though she went unnoticed, turned to Emma from across the ship.

Charming squinted at Emma from his place beside Hook behind the wheel.

Hook glanced over every so often, as confused as the rest of them, but didn't try to focus on much else but steering.

A flip flop sound loudly came from the water near Emma as the blonde let go of the ship with the last remaining hand she had on it. The sound seemed hurried as a second flip flop briefly overlapped it.

Snow continued toward Emma.

Regina swallowed as she self-consciously gravitated toward the blonde. She could feel Rumple's eyes on her from his new place on deck between the globe and the hatchway.

“Uh,” Emma jumped when another eery sound came from the water. “We've got company.”

Another small thud against of the ship made Regina move faster. A second thud accompanied with a third that almost occurred simultaneously caused Regina to immediately fall in-step with Emma at starboard. She peered over the side of the ship with an idea as to the cause of the noise, but it didn't stop her from widening her eyes in shock at the sight of two eels in the water.

Both eels had one yellow eye, one white.

“That's not good,” Regina said just before one of the eels swam backward, away from the ship.

It stayed close enough to the ship that it could see all those that came to stare at it just as Snow joined Emma and Regina.

“Snow,” Charming asked as he remained at Hook's side. “What is it?”

One eel swam around the stationary eel as the unmoving eel seemed to focus its attention on the group. It crept forward, closer to the ship, and after a few seconds their target became clear when the swimming eel stopped in front of the ship just underneath Emma.

Regina gasped, though she couldn't be heard over the sound that came next.

The eel against the ship fired itself up and sparks of electricity ignited under water. It purposely rammed itself into the ship at full charge and a green glow illuminated the underside of the Jolly Roger. The falloff of the green glow lit up a few feet of the sea beneath them.

The eel repeated the action as the other remained trained on the ship's occupants.

“What is it doing,” Snow asked with panic as she fearfully watched the eel slam into the ship again.

Regina ran through all the reasons why the eel would do such a thing before the right one occurred to her. Instead of providing an answer, Regina reached an arm around Emma's stomach before she grabbed the crook of Emma's left elbow with her left hand.

The eel continued to create a green glow in the water as it thumped into the ship a third time.

“Get away from the water,” Regina yelled as she pushed Emma back, toward the stairs that led up to the platform that overlooked the deck with the steering wheel at the front of it.

Snow didn't move as she stared down with wide eyes and a rapid heartbeat.

Regina quickly noticed seconds after she pushed Emma away and, without a second thought, spun toward Snow. She violently grabbed the raven haired woman's arm and yanked her inward in the same direction she'd pushed Emma.

Before either woman could ask Regina why she'd done that, the ship abruptly jerked to the right as harsh waves overtook the once peaceful water. All three of them slipped on deck in the sudden movement and fell to the floor.

Charming stumbled in a few directions as he fell toward the stairs and braced himself on the top of them before he could tumble down them.

Hook tightly held on to the wheel as he fought to keep himself upright while the shakiness of the ship threw Rumple against the wall of the platform Hook stood on. Rumple slumped against the wall and his eyes fluttered closed. After a moment, blood started to trickle down the back of his head and neck, behind his ear and down onto his suit.

Regina scrambled to get onto her feet as a cracking sound erupted from the side of the ship. She struggled a few times as the ship jarred back and forth and side to side.

Snow slid toward the rear of the ship and reached out to grab the bottom corner of the stairs to hold herself.

Emma grunted and scrunched up her face with a strong effort to stand as she rolled onto her stomach and tried to push off the deck with both her hands and knees. She barely managed to lift her knees off the deck when one of the eels impacted the ship and forced it to jostle back and to the right. Her feet slid out from underneath her and she landed on her chest. She immediately yelped as her chin bumped against the deck then tried to stand again.

Regina made her way toward Hook and started to shout commands.

“Steer left!”

Hook opened his mouth to either argue with or question her about why that would be necessary, but he didn't need to when a whirlpool swirled to the right of the ship. The Jolly Roger was being sucked in by its pull as green flashed like lightning and another cracking sound echoed in the air around them when the ship unevenly dipped into the water.

“Get us away from that that thing,” Regina ordered before the unpredictable movements of the ship made her trip over herself and smack down on her outer right thigh and hip. Her elbow banged against the deck as she grunted and slid feet first into the bottom of the small stairway that led to the platform.

Her boots stopped her from making an further impact against the first step and kept her relatively still as the ship started to sink into the whirlpool.

The back half of the ship chugged water as the front half tipped back as it started to stick straight up into the sky.

They weren't just sinking into the whirlpool. They were sinking in general.

Snow screamed as her hands slipped off the bottom corner of the stairs. She slid down to the sinking end of the ship and nearly fell into the water before she caught a rogue rope off a back sail.

“Snow!”

Charming's eyes nearly popped out of his head as he watched his wife dangle by a loose rope over the sunken part of the Jolly Roger partially consumed by the whirlpool.

Seconds later, the whirlpool expanded and another crack echoed throughout the surrounding area. The ship sunk faster.

Emma felt the Jolly Roger rumble as she tried to find her footing only to be caught off guard by yet another eel attack. The glowing eel charged another part of the ship and caused another crack in the side.

The ship's reaction forced Emma to roll onto her back before she slid down toward her mother. She yelled and reached out for the same bottom corner of the stairs Snow previously held onto. She clung on for dear life with one hand while she held the other one out in the direction the dangling woman.

Snow's feet then dipped into the water as the ship sank.

“Mom,” Emma shouted as she saw the water rise to Snow's calves then her knees as the ship went further down.

“Emma,” Charming yelled out as he saw both wife and daughter barely holding on.

Suddenly, Emma saw the active eel swim up to Snow.

“Mom!”

The eel only faintly glowed at it approached Snow, but it started to charge up the closer it got.

Emma's eyes went wide.

“No,” Emma screamed at the top of her lungs before the eel wrapped around one of Snow's calves.

Snow shrieked as the eel stung her. She gripped tighter to the rope as she gritted her teeth.

“Snow! Snow,” Charming yelled as he held on to the banister at the side of the stairs.

He looked down at his wife who wasn't too far away from him, but not close enough for him to reach out and grab.

Emma's grip started to slide. She looked back to see her fingers slip away from the corner like her mother's had with tears in her ears that threatened to fall.

Hook steered as far to the left as he could, but he doubted nothing could save them at that point. He kept his face twisted to display all the effort he put forth and continued to do what he could to get them away from the whirlpool despite his negativity.

Emma turned back to her mother in time to see the eel tighten around Snow's calve and shock her again.

Snow cried out and her hands loosened on the rope. She slid further into the water but stopped herself when the water reached her waist. Her hands were sure to have rope burn, but she tried to pull herself up the rope anyway. She cried as she lifted herself as much as the limited amount of muscles in her arms allowed her, but she failed to do more than rise half an inch north.

The dormant eel swam into action and slithered over to Snow's other leg.

Emma's fingers slipped again as she shouted again. She snapped her head up to the corner of the stairs and suddenly locked eyes with Regina as the brunette curled her body closer to Emma.

“Give me your hand,” Regina yelled over the rush of the whirlpool.

“I can't,” Emma yelled as she held back tears much closer to falling in that moment.

“You have to! Take my hand,” Regina demanded as she shifted her legs against the top of the stairs to ground herself in all the chaos. “If you don't, you'll fall in!”

Emma shook her head as she tried to reach up to grab the corner of the stairs with her left hand. She couldn't fight the wind the whirlpool stirred up and her left arm fell to her side with more force than she could equalize. Her fingers slipped yet again and her fingertips were almost the only thing holding her up.

Snow screamed out in pain again as both eels shocked her.

Soon after the shock, the eels abandoned Snow and started to swim up toward Emma as far as the water permitted.

In a weakened state, Snow almost let go of the rope as the whirlpool started to ring her around in the bustling current.

“Snow, you have to hold on,” Charming commanded with his booming voice as he tried not to worry about or cry for his wife. He had to stay strong if he planned on saving her.

“I can't hold on,” Snow shook her head as Emma, Regina, and Charming all heard the tears in voice as they streamed down her face. “I'm not strong enough.”

Emma shot her attention back to her mother as a tear of her own rolled down her cheek.

“Emma,” Regina yelled out but couldn't get the blonde to look at her.

Charming whipped his head toward his daughter at the sound of her name.

“No,” he yelled. “Emma!”

“I've got her,” Regina barked at Charming as he tried to move toward Emma.

“Mom,” Emma yelled to Snow, her tone almost pleading. “Just hang on! Please!”

“I'm sorry,” Snow softly said as she shook her head and slipped further into the water.

“No,” Emma screamed.

“Keep talking to Snow,” Regina ordered Charming.

Charming's eyes immediately found Regina's for the briefest of moments before he turned back to his wife.

“Snow! Please! It'll all be over soon,” Charming tried to assure her.

“Emma,” Regina more forcefully yelled as she noticed the eels creeping up toward the younger woman.

Emma swallowed the lump that had quickly formed in her throat as she tried to hold back her tears and turned to Regina.

“You have to trust me,” Regina said as she held out her left hand. “I can save her if you just take my hand.”

Emma could hear the sincerity in Regina's voice as much as she could see it in chocolate brown eyes.

Regina curled her body further toward Emma and side-stepped like a crab along the bottom step to ready herself for what she had planned. She extended her hand even more, closer to Emma's, and hoped the blonde would listen to her for once in the two years they'd known each other.

Emma took a deep breath and let go of the corner. She fell toward Snow with a yelp.

Regina bent her knees and leaned over before she quickly clasped their hands and caught Emma. She gritted her teeth and started to pull Emma up with her left hand, her weak hand.

Emma shot her other hand up and gripped Regina's forearm. She tried to help herself up as much as Regina tried to pull her dead weight.

Regina still ended up doing most of the work as she took a chance and slid her left foot off the bottom stair, leaving only her right foot as their leverage to avoid falling into the whirlpool directly under them. She extended her left leg as far possible, nearly doing the splits against the bottom of the stairs, and reached her left foot between Emma's thighs.

The top of her foot cradled Emma's center and the blonde jumped at the contact.

“Lean toward me,” Regina said through gritted teeth, her face still contorted in her efforts to lift Emma.

Emma didn't argue and did as Regina told her. She leaned into Regina's leg but was careful not to weigh the other woman down. She tightened her core muscles, her abdomen strained, as she ensured only her lower half leaned toward Regina. She kept her stomach and chest off Regina's leg as best she could.

Regina used both her foot between Emma's legs and her left hand to pull the younger woman up to her and managed to do it within a few long, painful seconds. She wrapped her right arm around Emma's waist and held Emma flush against her while she straightened out her left leg. She removed her foot from between Emma's thighs and, without any other choice, replaced it with her knee as she slowly let go of Emma's hand. She panted as she started to relax but continued to hold Emma against herself.

Regina slid her left arm around Emma's waist and pressed her right forearm against the deck. She pushed them up into a sitting position and forced Emma's back against the railing for the stairs. She let go of Emma as she did so and took back her arm.

“Hold on to the banister,” Regina breathlessly said.

Emma reached behind her and grabbed one of the wooden rails just above her head.

“ _Don't_ let go,” Regina said with a smoky voice, strained from the previous yelling.

Regina, without permission, grabbed Emma's right hand with her own. She squeezed it and deeply stared into Emma's panicked green eyes.

“I need you to do _exactly_ what you did in the mine before we left Storybrooke. Focus all your magic and give it to me,” Regina seriously said. “I'm going to need all the strength we have _combined_ to do this, okay?”

“Okay,” Emma quietly said before she gulped.

“This,” Regina shook their joined hands between their bodies. “Is where I need you to focus all your magic. Ready?”

Emma sheepishly nodded, her eyes still wide.

“Now,” Regina commanded as she held out a hand to Snow, her palm facing the woman.

Emma took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She squeezed Regina's hand as she tried to conjure up magic she'd rarely been able to use on cue. She felt Regina's magic, just as she had in the mine, and even tasted it on the back of her tongue.

Wispy purple smoke swirled around the rope holding Snow and wrapped it around the woman. She kept her eyes trained on Snow until she had the younger woman secured in the rope.

Snow relaxed her arms and stared, utterly shocked, at Regina.

Regina didn't feel Emma's magic.

The brunette pushed forward with her plan and looked up at the pulley that held the rope. She kept her hand on Snow as she used her eyes to channel the next part of her magic. She forced the out-of-reach pulley to move and magically reeled Snow upward.

“Charming,” Regina called out to the prince as she kept her eyes glued to the pulley. “Catch her!”

Regina rigged the rope and pulley to sway and swung Snow toward Charming. She forced the pulley to lower Snow as she swung the woman at him and Snow crashed into her husband.

Charming wrapped an arm around his wife's waist as they continued to sink and braced himself and her against the banister with his left hand.

“Emma,” Regina snapped her attention to the blonde in front of her.

Emma's eyes shot open to meet glowing purple irises.

“I need you,” Regina said.

Emma remained frozen as she stared at the brunette.

“I can't do it,” Emma insisted. “I can't feel it, channel it, whatever!”

Regina gripped Emma's hand tighter and sent a shock through Emma's arm. Her magic prickled under Emma's skin as it zapped her arm before it zapped her heart.

“Ow! Hey,” Emma complained without letting go of Regina's hand.

“Focus!”

“ _Conjuring magic is not an intellectual endeavor. It's emotion.”_

The words flooded Emma's mind as she remembered what Rumple taught her about magic.

“ _You must ask yourself why am I doing this? Who am I protecting?”_

Emma stared at Regina and saw nothing else but purple eyes that faded to their normal brown color.

“ _Feel it!”_

Everything got quiet except the sound of Regina's breath and her own. Emma couldn't hear the sea or her parents shouting or the ship falling into the whirlpool. Her tunnel vision on Regina suddenly applied to all of her senses.

Like a flame coming to life from a recently struck match, her magic ignited within her. Her walls, her only defense mechanism, broke like a dam and her magic surged through her in a frenzy to reach Regina. When her magic traveled to their joined hands, blue and purple sparks crackled over their hands as they twisted and wound up around each other like a double helix across tan and fair skin.

Regina gasped and immediately slammed her left palm against the deck when she felt what she needed to proceed. She clawed at the wood beneath her fingers and a rush of blue and purple lightning strikes scrambled across the tilted ship floor.

Emma subconsciously parted her lips as she felt their joined hands warm. She could feel the magic leave her body and mix with Regina's like she'd felt it in the mine. She had never felt something so intense before in her life, no connection stronger than the specific link she felt with Regina.

Their combined magic skittered and bolted all over the ship. It rushed to fix the cracked and destroyed side of the Jolly Roger as Regina kept her hand on the deck.

The eels hooked their tails together and charged up before they sent an opposing shock through the water.

The shock intersected Regina and Emma's magic and ran up to Regina's hand. An intense shock hit Regina's hand and surged through her like an unrelenting electric current. She winced and squeezed her eyes shut. After a few moments, she lifted her hand off the deck, but continued to hold Emma's hand the entire time.

Emma heard Regina give a small cry of pain when she closed her eyes. She went against Regina's advice and let go of the railing. She lunged forward and touched the deck like Regina had before she sent her own magic back down to the wrecked part of the ship. She heard Regina pant against her shoulder, their bodies infinitely closer, as Emma kept her hand on the deck. Their new position made it look like a game of Twister, except only their upper halves were close.

“Regina,” Emma breathlessly called out as she tried to focus both on repairing the ship and getting the brunette's attention.

Regina opened her eyes as she inhaled then turned her head to try and look into Emma's eyes. She leaned back and rested her weight on her left forearm as she pressed her palm against the deck again. Her magic danced with Emma's across the ship floor as it quickly made it's way to the damaged side of the ship.

Emma squeezed Regina's hand tight enough for her knuckles to turn white. She could feel her palm sweat against Regina's.

“Get us out of here,” Emma said to Regina as she made it a point to find the other woman's eyes. “I'll fix the ship.”

“You want me to magically transport an entire ship,” Regina struggled to ask as she felt herself start to shake.

“We don't have a choice.”

Regina sighed as her forearm gave out under her weight. She fell onto her back and closed her eyes, her palm still face down on the deck. She visualized the ship and everyone on it as she made her body a conduit for her magic as well as Emma's. She used their joined hands to bypass half of Emma's magic to aid hers in surrounding the ship with thick purple clouds of smoke.

The whirlpool sparked with another shock from the eels.

“Ah,” Emma cringed as the shock jolted her further forward.

She landed haphazardly on top of Regina but stayed focused on the ship's repair.

Regina groaned on impact as her brow furrowed, eyes still closed, and she tried to quickly refocus on the task at hand. Half the ship was covered in purple smoke when she felt her magic exhaust her. She arched her back and screamed in crescendo.

Another shock from the eels and tears flew down Regina's cheeks as though they were jumping ship, Regina's eyes being the ship.

Emma felt her pain through their physical and somewhat emotional connection. She suddenly found herself redirecting the eels' shock onto herself. She whimpered as the pain wracked her body, the eels merciless. She fought back with a stronger dose of her magic, but felt her energy dwindle within seconds.

Regina used the last bit of magic she had to channel most of Emma's limited supply into finishing the transport job.

Emma screamed in unison with Regina as she felt all her magic being ripped from her, more than half forced from her body by Regina while the rest of it of her own volition to fix the ship.

The top of the ship disappeared from sight in the smoke. For what felt like hours as Regina and Emma shook and writhed in pain, the ship vanished then poofed into calm waters away from the whirlpool.

Emma cried out when the smoke cleared and collapsed completely onto Regina in a heap. The last bit of her magic sparked out of her like a faulty wire on the fritz as it rebuilt a small part of the ship, the final part that needed fixed. She curled her head into the crook of Regina's neck as the top of her head brushed against Regina's right cheek.

Regina's chest intensively heaved under Emma, their hands still clasped together between their stomachs. A sheen of sweat coated her face and matted some of her brunette hair to her heated forehead. Her eyes fluttered open a few times, but she couldn't keep them open. She could tell by Emma's deep breathing that the blonde had blacked out.

“Emma,” Snow and Charming alternated calling out their daughter's name as they ran toward Regina and Emma.

“Emma? Honey,” Snow softly asked as though she would eventually hear a response.

“Emma!”

Charming chose to yell like a barbarian instead of using a soothing voice like Snow had, no matter how close he got. He didn't seem to understand that some people liked their hearing.

It infuriated Regina as she struggled to fight off her exhaustion. Out of her and Emma, one of them had to stay awake to find Henry. Unfortunately, her body didn't agree.

“Emma,” Snow asked again as she leaned over the blonde's back with tears in her eyes as well as her voice.

“Blacked...out,” Regina softly, tiredly said before she slipped into unconsciousness.

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

Regina took a deep breath and blinked a few times, her face contorted to express her disorientation. When her eyes finally opened, she found herself staring up at the underside of the top bunk.

"What are we going to do, David," Snow worriedly asked nearby.

Regina could see both Snow and Charming standing in front of the bunk bed, though she couldn't see much of their faces from her position in the near center of the bed.

"Calm down, Snow. Everything will be okay," Charming replied as he soothingly rubbed Snow's back.

"It's been two days! She still hasn't so much as flinched," Snow sounded on the verge of panic. "What if she never wakes up?"

"She'll wake up," Regina groggily spoke up.

Charming and Snow took a step back and bent over at the waist to look at the brunette.

"You're awake," Charming flatly stated.

"Clearly," Regina replied with a roll of her eyes.

"What about Emma," Snow quickly asked as she came closer to Regina. "Will she be alright?"

"In time," Regina calmly answered. "I took a lot out of her."

"You?"

"Yes. I needed her magic to get us away from the eels," Regina matter-of-factly stated. "Emma was the one that wanted me to transport an entire ship with several passengers on it."

"So that gave you the right to steal her magic and use her," Charmingly angrily asked as he took a deliberate, almost intimidating step toward Regina.

"I had no right. You and I both know that, but it was necessary," Regina casually defended herself like she had done nothing wrong.

Snow scoffed and shook her head.

"Stay away from our daughter," Charming growled with a pointed finger.

Regina throatily chuckled.

"Kind of hard to do when we're in the middle of Neverland, stuck on the same small ship, trying to save our son."

"He's not your son," Snow shook her head. "He's Emma's."

"I'd be careful how you talk to me. Your precious princess wouldn't like it if the three of us don't get along. Or did you not hear her speech the other day?"

"How Emma can defend you I will never understand," Charming spat as he hastily headed for the deck. "I'm going to stand guard."

Snow regarded her husband's absence before she turned her attention back to Regina.

"If you hurt her in any way," Snow threateningly started as she leaned in close to Regina. "It will be the last thing you do."

Regina grinned.

"Good to know the darkness in your heart hasn't faded."

Snow scowled then stood and looked over her slumbering daughter. She tenderly tucked a strand of blonde hair behind Emma's ear. She sweetly kissed her daughter's cheek and made her way to the door.

"What you did for the town," Snow started as she stopped in the doorway, her back to Regina. "That was truly heroic."

Snow slightly turned to look at Regina before she continued.

"But if you slip up, if you revert back to your dark ways, I won't hesitate to banish you from Storybrooke or the kingdom, wherever we may find ourselves after we find Henry. One good deed doesn't clean the slate."

Snow didn't wait for a response before she turned and left, a particular coldness in the air as Regina feared the loss of her son if Snow's threat were put into action.

Regina gave herself a moment to push aside her worries before she slowly sat up and removed herself from the bottom bunk. She turned to Emma and scanned her eyes over the blonde's motionless body. She inspected Emma's body as though she were assessing the damage, though there seemed to be none.

She sighed and ran a hand through her own hair as she continued to look over the lithe and limp body.

Suddenly, Emma jerked toward Regina with a pained expression on her face. Her eyes remained closed as she curled up closer to the edge of the bed. She twisted her body so she wasn't entirely on her right side, but most of her body faced out toward the rest of the room.

Regina took a step back to give Emma some space, but when the blonde settled, she placed a hand on Emma's forehead and checked the younger woman's temperature. Hot to the touch.

The woman that knew how to get under her skin so well lay in a fever because of her. Ever since Emma and her yellow bug one maintenance repair away from vehicle heaven arrived in Storybrooke, Regina never imagined she'd feel guilty for weakening the blonde the way she had. She'd tried to kill Emma at least three times in the last two years and yet, she couldn't stop herself from caring. She couldn't stop herself from taking care of the blonde in the simplest way she could offer.

Emma moved again as she furrowed her brow.

"Neal," Emma questioningly called out in her sleep. "No. ...Henry!"

Regina momentarily pulled away as Emma began to thrash around and watched the younger woman with wide eyes, afraid to be seen in a such a caring and attentive position. She relaxed with a relieved sigh when Emma calmed down once more then stepped closer to her again. She felt the other woman's forehead again to see if her fever had worsened. It remained the same, but new beads of sweat slowly rolled across fair skin.

Emma began to shake.

Regina grabbed the blanket curled up behind Emma and draped it over the woman. She rubbed Emma's arm to warm her up in an attempt to sweat out the fever.

Emma whimpered.

"Shh," Regina cooed. "Sleep now, dear. I'll take care of the rest."

Emma gasped before a small cry fell from her lips.

"We'll find him," Regina softly said as she ran her fingertips along Emma's side.

Purple magic crackled from her fingertips and flowed into Emma's body.

Emma took a deep breath and released it in a quiet moan as Regina's magic gently buzzed through her.

Regina smiled as she saw Emma melt into her touch.

"Sweet dreams," Regina said before she moved her hand from Emma's side to blonde locks.

Regina brushed Emma's hair out of her face and allowed her fingers to trace the woman's jawline as she brought her hand back to her side.

"Be mindful, deary," a sickeningly familiar voice spoke from the doorway. "What you're doing now won't help you escape punishment for your past crimes. In fact, Snow White will probably indict you sooner. That is, if Prince Charming doesn't stick a sword through you first."

"I'm not harming her," Regina insisted then turned to face the imp.

"I know that. Don't forget who taught you that spell," Rumple said as he took a couple steps into the room.

Regina clenched her jaw and briefly looked over her shoulder at Emma.

"I imagine her memories of my son will not rot her tired mind in the form of nightmares for a while thanks to you," Rumple said as he slithered closer.

"I'm surprised you weren't too busy trying to kill Hook over lost whiskey to keep up with current events."

"It was his whiskey and he started it," Rumple angrily supplied. "I want to kill him because he took Milah from me. From Bae."

Regina chucked.

"For someone who has a girlfriend back in Storybrooke that's stuck by you through plenty of your days as the Dark One, you seem awfully fixated on an age old vengeance."

"Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black."

"I don't have a girlfriend," Regina carelessly replied.

Rumple smirked.

"I'm proud of you," Rumple said as raked his eyes over her. "You've come a long way, deary. But don't forget what I told you. Emma won't defend you forever. She'll see the real you and-"

"Why are you here," Regina cut him off with a question, clearly upset.

"I just came to see that you made a full recovery," Rumple said. "I've been checking on your progress since Charming brought you down here."

"And why would you do that?"

"You and me, we need to stick together."

"No," Regina shook her head. "We haven't been together on anything since the curse broke."

"Maybe we should amend that then."

"After what I did to Belle-"

"Don't you dare say her name," Rumple snapped.

Regina arrogantly grinned.

"See? You can't possibly trust me and I will never trust you. Our time working together ended when Emma broke the curse, but we weren't really working together then either, were we."

Rumple tightened his grip on his cane and narrowed his eyes at Regina with a slimy but proud grin.

"Now if you'll excuse me," Regina started as she strutted toward the door. "I've got to focus on finding my son."

Regina walked past him without a care as their shoulders briefly collided from his inability to move, or rather his persistence to stay put. She kept her expression stern and unamused as her lips formed a tight line. She went up to the deck and immediately felt cold air whip against her face. Her shoulder length hair blew in the active breeze, several low laying gloomy clouds in the gray-blue sky.

Regina inspected the surrounding area and noticed the change in current. Small waves rocked the ship more than the current of their previous location had and it slightly worried the brunette.

"Seems there's a storm ahead," Hook announced when he noted Regina's presence.

Snow and Charming turned from their work on the sails to see Regina on deck with them. Charming's jaw was hard set while Snow stared at her former stepmother with disappointment.

"We should find a pier," Regina suggested. "Somewhere to stop at least for a few minutes. Somewhere with plumbing?"

Snow hesitated as she contemplated the idea then nodded.

"It would be nice to take a break from the ship," Snow said.

Charming sighed then also nodded in agreement.

"Okay. We'll stop, but for no more than ten minutes. We shouldn't stay in one place for too long. Those...things may come back," he said.

"Flotsam and Jetsam," Regina offered. "And they will come back."

"What," Snow asked, confused and concerned.

"Those things. They were eels, Ursula's eels. Flotsam and Jetsam."

"How can you be sure," Charming asked.

"I told you she was around here somewhere,” Regina started to explain. “Triton's kingdom is just below the surface, deep below the sea."

"Then shouldn't he be the one paying us a visit," Snow asked.

"He died," Hook responded from his place at the wheel.

"What? How," Snow worriedly asked as she stepped closer to the platform.

"Hook would know better, but rumors traveled to the Enchanted Forest, at least to the dark-hearted souls,” Regina continued.

"Such as yourself," Charming bitterly mumbled.

Regina sighed as a way to calm herself and release her tension before she continued.

"Ursula killed Triton and took over his kingdom."

"And she's not a friend of yours," Charming disbelievingly asked.

Regina glowered at him.

"Do you know what happened to Ariel," Regina asked Charming, though she already knew the answer.

Charming remained quiet as he kept his eyes on Regina. He didn't blink and Regina took that to mean he expected her to continue.

She had no intention of leaving him in the dark about the red headed mermaid's fate.

"Ursula captured her before the girl could get the human to confess his love for her. She never got to keep her legs," Regina informed him and Snow who nervously stood beside him with her arm clutched around his. "Ursula let her keep her voice, but only because of what she would do to the girl in the dungeon."

Snow shook her head.

"Dungeon?"

"Long story short, Ursula didn't want to marry Prince Eric. She didn't want to steal him from the girl," Regina explained in a low voice. "She wanted Ariel."

"No, that can't be true," Snow breathlessly insisted as her state of shock removed her usual bravado from her tone. In that moment, she sounded more like the timid Mary Margaret than the feisty Snow White.

"Oh, but it is," Rumple confirmed as he limped onto the deck. "I enchanted the shell for Ursula that allowed her to steal the mermaid's voice."

"But I thought Ursula had her own magic," Regina asked with a gravelly voice, confusion and disbelief clear across her face.

"And who do you suppose taught her how to control it," Rumple eerily purred.

Regina's skin crawled at the sound.

"There's a dock up ahead," Hook interrupted as he pointed to a quaint area a short distance away. "Are we all in agreement that we should stop?"

Regina looked to Snow and Charming.

Husband and wife looked at each other before they came to a silent agreement and turned to Hook.

"Yes," Charming answered.

Hook spun the wheel and turned the ship toward the docks. Within a few minutes, they were at one of the few docks available.

Charming tossed a rope over the side of the ship as Snow eased her way onto the rickety dock first and began to tie the rope around one of the posts. Charming tossed a second rope over and joined his wife on the dock then tightened the rope around a second post.

Regina ensured the ropes were strongly attached to the ship then locked eyes with Snow.

"Emma," Snow asked Regina, a concerned mother first and foremost though her displeasure showed as she hadn't yet forgiven the brunette.

"She's still not awake. I don't imagine she will be for a while," Regina answered.

"I'll see if I can change that," Charming said as he climbed back on board the ship.

Snow nodded in appreciation of his efforts.

Hook threw a leg over the side of the ship and lowered himself onto the dock.

Regina, followed by Rumple, did the same. The group, minus Charming and Emma, headed toward the tiny boathouse like establishment nearby.

Charming appeared before his sleeping daughter with a heavy look of despair. He ran a hand through her hair and immediately felt the sheen of sweat on her heated forehead. He frowned.

"Emma," he softly called out to her. "Sweetheart?"

He gently shook her, but she didn't wake. He sighed and tried a different approach.

"Emma," he called out with a little more force.

He shook harder and tugged at one of her legs.

Emma hummed and started to stir.

"Mm... Regina?"

"No. It's me," Charming started as he waited for the blonde's eyes to open. "Dad."

Emma scrunched up her face before she opened her eyes and her vision soon cleared. She saw Charming in front of her just as a small smile spread across his face.

"Dad?"

Emma slowly came out of her haze and shot into action.

"Henry! Did we find him yet?! Did Regina get us away from those creepy eels?"

"Whoa, hey. Shh," Charming soothingly said. "We haven't found him yet. We just stopped for a, well, a bathroom break."

"She did it?"

"Who did what?"

"Regina. She used her magic to get us away from the eels."

"According to her," Charming angrily started. "She used your magic to do it."

"What happened," Emma asked after a moment, unable to figure it out for herself.

"You blacked out after the ship appeared fully repaired in calm waters. So far we're safe, but things still look a little uncertain."

"I feel like I've been asleep for a year," Emma groggily said as she slowly sat up.

"It's been a couple days."

"Seriously?"

He nodded.

"Why the hell didn't anyone wake me sooner?!"

Emma jumped off the top bunk and headed toward the hatchway.

"We tried," Charming started as he followed Emma down the hall. "It didn't matter what we did, you wouldn't wake up."

"And Regina? She didn't black out?"

"She did," Charming answered as Emma started to climb the latter up to the deck. "She woke up not too long ago."

"So...where exactly are we," Emma asked as she reached the top of the ladder and hopped onto the deck.

"That I'm not entirely sure of," Charming admitted just before he followed her lead.

Inside the boathouse, Regina splashed water on her face in the bathroom. She locked herself inside before Snow could beat her to it while Hook made jokes about the Evil Queen's vanity on the other side of the door.

She took a few deep breaths as she analyzed her worn appearance in the mirror. She looked exhausted and weak, not like her normally together self. It sickened her not to feel like herself. She didn't know where Henry was, Rumple continued to aggressively breathe down her neck, and every time she turned around there seemed to be one issue or another, some profound danger. She'd never been to Neverland, but within the short time she'd been there she didn't like it.

Raising Henry, learning how to govern a small town, living in a world without magic, and keeping Storybrooke hidden from the rest of the world she could handle. Losing her son, using a lot more magic than she'd been used to in decades, and feeling something strange and almost friendly toward the irritating blonde she could not.

Leave it in Storybrooke, Regina repeated her own words of advice.

The only issue with that was the fact that all of the things she couldn't handle had everything to do with Neverland and nothing to do with her quiet little town.

A knock on the door forced Regina's vision to instantly focus as she snapped her head in the direction of the sound's origin.

"Regina!"

The familiar and slightly agitated voice of Henry's biological mother heavily filtered through the white though scuffed up restroom door.

"Open up," Emma said, her voice strong as it sounded like her body stood almost flush against the door.

Regina took a deep breath and released it in a sigh before she hurriedly grabbed a couple paper towels and dabbed them against her wet face. She carelessly tossed them into the trash as she wrapped her free hand around the door knob.

When Regina pulled back the door, it revealed a tired Emma with her head down as she rested her hands on either side of the outer door frame.

Emma looked up and met Regina's gaze as the brunette opened the door. When their eyes locked, she flashed a brief and small smile that someone who didn't know her well enough would have missed.

Regina caught it, though she would hardly call it a smile, especially when she'd seen Emma's smile on occasion.

"My mom needs to go," Emma plainly explained.

Regina looked over Emma's shoulder and noticed Snow performing a subtle, awkward dance. She laughed under her breath, though she did nothing to hide her pleased smirk.

"You could have told me yourself," Regina addressed Snow.

"But you're glad she didn't," Emma redirected the brunette's attention to herself.

Regina met Emma's gaze again and grinned.

"I wonder if you know me too well, dear."

"Can we exchange jokes and twisted pleasures later," Charming piped up as he gently touched Snow's shoulder for support.

Regina rolled her eyes and stepped out of the restroom. She motioned behind her at it and Snow wasted no time jogging her way inside.

The door quickly closed behind the raven haired woman and left the rest of the group in a tense silence.

Regina looked around at everyone. Her eyes found Emma's first, the blonde as uncomfortable as herself, before she noted Charming's impatience, Rumple's irritability, and Hook's boredom.

Suddenly, a soft and small voice came from behind the closed restroom door.

"David?"

Charming's eyes widened at the sound of his name and he bolted into action. He took long strides toward the door and placed a hand on it before he responded.

"Snow? Is everything alright?"

"Um, can you...I need some help," Snow nervously admitted.

Regina contorted her face in confusion and disgust.

Emma furrowed her brow as she stared at the scene in front of her as it slowly, strangely unfolded.

After a moment's hesitation, Charming opened the door a crack and slipped inside. He closed the door behind himself that prevented anyone but him to see his wife in a possibly compromising position.

"Maybe I've been around the Mills' women too long," Hook started as a grin gradually spread across his face. "But is your mother that incompetent she hasn't yet been 'potty trained?'"

Emma shot the pirate an annoyed glance while Regina lightly chuckled. Emma turned her attention to Regina and placed her hands on her hips to show more even more annoyance to compliment her expression.

Regina stifled her laughter and tried to mute her inappropriately happy features. She cleared her throat and stared down at her feet as she failed to hide her persistent smile.

Inside the restroom, Snow sat on top of the closed toilet seat with her pants balled up on the floor beside her feet. The ankles of the pants were darkened by dried salt water and tattered from her frequent movements during the eel attack. Snow frowned as tears of worry filled her eyes but had yet to fall.

Charming rested on his knees before Snow and placed a comforting hand on his wife's knee.

"It's going to be okay," Charming tried to assure her, his tone as soothing as his words.

The shy, nervous, and easily panicked Mary Margaret half of Snow shook her head with disbelief.

"No, it's not," she insisted. "It hurts and I...I need healing. If I don't, I...I might not be all that mobile soon."

"Why didn't you say anything earlier," Charming asked. "Two days and you've been dealing with this pain?"

"I thought it would just go away. It didn't hurt much at first. But then I walked around a lot and I tossed and turned at night, fearful of Emma's state, and then it got worse. Now it won't go away."

Charming sighed as he gently ran his hands down Snow's calves and inspected red, chaffed and swollen skin around her shins and ankles.

Snow hissed when his fingers rubbed against sore and raw flesh at her calves too harshly.

"Sorry," he quickly yet genuinely apologized as he eased up on his already feather like grip.

Silence overtook them as he weighed their options. He took a minute before he expressed a disliked but maybe helpful suggestion.

"We could ask Regina to heal you."

"No," Snow snapped. "I will not allow that woman's magic to touch me! For all we know she'll just make it worse in an attempt to get even a little revenge. Besides, we can't use magic if we want to stay under the radar."

Charming brought a hand to the back of his neck and rubbed it as he found himself at a loss for other options.

“What happens if this gets unbearable," Charming asked.

"I'll deal with it. I'll manage," Snow tried to rebuild her strength.

Charming didn't buy it for a second.

"Snow," he pushed with notable concern. "Let her heal you. Don't forget why we're here. Our grandson needs us all to be strong. If we let petty grievances or our pride weaken us in any way, we might as well be the ones to kill him."

Snow took a few shallow breaths as she fought back the tears that still threatened to stream down her face. She put her face in her hands and deepened her breathing.

"Okay," she breathlessly agreed then pulled her hands away from her face.

Regina's laughter had subsided minutes ago and the prior discomfort between the group had resurfaced. She surveyed all the surrounding buildings at the pier out of curiosity and habitual need for contingency plans when the restroom door opened.

Charming peeked out through a small crack he made between door and door frame. He acknowledged Emma and gave her a comforting, reassuring nod before he looked at the only other woman on the other side of the door.

"Regina," he called her, his voice thick with authority.

Regina turned and met his gaze, not at all happy or appreciative of his tone.

"We need your magic," Charming informed her.

"Strange since I was under the impression you didn't want me to use magic," Regina said only to haughtily resist the forceful request.

"Why is magic needed at all," Emma asked as she stepped closer to Charming, alarmed and concerned.

Charming sighed. He didn't want to give his daughter any reason to worry, especially not when she had enough stress and worry related to finding her abducted son.

"She...has a condition," he carefully said.

"Wait, I thought we couldn't use magic," Hook piped up from a short distance away, a hand casually raised like a kid with a question in school.

Charming's face fell as that thought seemed to have just occurred to him.

"It doesn't matter now," Regina replied. "Ursula still found us from the magic used to create the portal that brought us here and I'm sure she'll find us again considering the great amount if magic we used to get here."

Hook didn't need further explanation. He understood as much as he wanted to understand and tuned them out as more questions surfaced.

"What the hell 'condition' does she have," Emma asked as her anger from the lack of answers rose within her.

"Emma-"

"No! She's my mom I deserve to know what's going on with her."

Charming rubbed his eyes and sighed.

"The eels," he started. "The attack was more severe than she let on."

"Well, I've got magic. I can do it," Emma offered as she felt newly formed and accepted kinship tug at her heart strings.

"You may have it, but you don't know how to use it," Regina said.

"David," Snow called out with a trembling voice.

Emma, Regina, and Charming all heard the tears that made the man's name weakly fall past quivering lips.

"Regina," Emma started to beg as she came to stand beside the brunette.

Regina turned at the sound of her name.

"Will you...?"

Emma trailed off, unable to finish her question for a few reasons. One of them being that she didn't know the term for what Regina could magically do to help her mother.

Regina saw the desperation in emerald eyes. She hesitated before she made her decision, her eyes never leaving Emma's as she contemplated the situation. She turned back to Charming and barely glanced at him before she moved toward the restroom.

Emma sighed with a bit of relief as the door closed behind Regina and Charming.

Rumple knowingly grinned in the shadows. No one noticed him among the group, but he noticed all of them and the subtle things they did that most people, including themselves, would overlook.

Regina took a few seconds to let Snow's appearance sink in. Only once in Snow's adult life had Regina seen the woman look as small and vulnerable as she did then. Only when Regina towered over Snow as the raven haired royalty held her fallen husband in her arms and cried. Only minutes before the curse consumed them and tore apart the palace did Regina see Snow in such a similar state.

Snow looked up with wide, childlike eyes filled with hope and tears as she sat with her hands clasped in her lap and her elbows weighted on her knees.

Inwardly, Regina felt a small amount of pleasure as she stared at Snow. But somehow, she couldn't revel in it and didn't outwardly express it at all.

Her eyes wandered down Snow's legs and saw the shredded, sensitive skin. Her face remained unreadable as she assessed the damage. When she had a general idea of what she had to fix, she knelt in front of Snow. She tried not to think of it as a submissive position simply because of who she happened to be submitting to.

"Can you heal her," Charming asked, antsy as he paced the two steps available in the confined space.

"There are very few things I can't do," Regina almost growled as she kept her eyes trained on Snow's legs.

"Then why aren't you healing her yet," he asked as his anger started to boil to the surface.

If Regina took more than a fleeting moment to think about it, she would fully conclude the similarities between Charming's hot temper and Emma's. Given her own anger toward Charming, however, she didn't pay much thought to the apparent truth.

"Ow," Snow cringed then hissed as she jerked away from Regina's investigative touch.

Regina didn't apologize. She would never apologize to the woman before her, the woman who had taken so much from her. Her ability to trust people, her happiness, her freedom, and of course her love Daniel. She buried the rage inducing thoughts and kept her focus narrowed to Snow's legs.

"Do you feel pain anywhere else," Regina asked as she refused to look into Snow's eyes.

"No," Snow shook her head.

"Okay," Regina said more to herself than anyone else.

Regina didn't warn Snow before she drew on her magic and let a purple glow illuminate her hands as well as Snow's legs.

Snow groaned to contain yells and screams from the displeasure she felt. She squeezed her eyes closed, but she couldn't always look away. Occasionally, she looked down and watched Regina's hands move over her own calves and shins. She stared in awe as the pain lessened and the skin returned to its unscathed and fair colored state.

Smooth, repaired skin appeared under the purple glow and Snow and Charming shared a look of amazement.

The glow faded as Regina pulled her hands away and studied her work.

"Better," Regina asked.

Snow nodded.

"Good," Regina disdainfully said as she stood. "We should leave here as soon as possible. I'm sure Ursula isn't the only obstacle we should avoid and as I've said, magic attracts our enemies here."

Charming gave a single nod of understanding and held out a hand to his wife.

Regina switched places with Charming as she went toward the door and Charming helped Snow to her feet. She didn't look back as Snow put her pants back on. Instead, she opened the door without a single thought about what she'd done, how she'd helped Snow White of all people. When she looked up at expectant and hopeful green eyes, however, she thought about it.

"Is she okay," Emma rushed to ask.

"She'll be fine, Miss Swan," Regina relied on her regal, Mayor Mills stature to keep her from being overly civil with the blonde. It wasn't like them to get along, even if it would help save their son.

The door opened and both Emma's parents walked out hand in hand. Charming led Snow out to join the group.

Emma visibly relaxed before she briefly addressed Regina.

"Thanks," Emma breathed out as she mainly kept her eyes on her parents.

"Touching as this is," Rumple started as he limped only one step toward the family.

Regina stopped him to continue for him.

"Ursula will send her eels to find us. Since I just used magic, it will leave a trace and let them know we were here. We need to go now."

 There was no argument. All of them agreed their departure was best and each took turns relieving themselves in the restroom. Snow and Regina being the only ones that already took care of their needs headed back to the ship before the others. They prepared the ship for sailing as the others shuffled onto it during the few following minutes. Neither woman spoke, though. Both seemed content in their own right to pretend Regina hadn't done something nice for Snow.

 Once all of them were on board, they abandoned the docks and moved on.

 *     *     *

 Emma camped out by the globe with her legs tucked under herself. She sat with her back against the platform that supported the globe with nothing to do and not all of her strength back. Eyes closed, she thought of Henry with deep, controlled breaths.

Regina spent the next few minutes staring out at the sea. She checked the water to ensure they were alone then scanned her eyes across the horizon to commit their surroundings to memory. But everything looked the same. Neverland seemed dull and vacant. Things were still entirely too quiet for an Evil Queen's liking. She could feel something sinister brewing in the moist air and the cavernous waters they traveled.

She suspiciously eyed the surrounding area then turned back to the rest of the ship. Naturally, she noticed everyone's position in case any of them decided to attack. It was something, a defense mechanism, she learned to use early in life and it helped her immensely as the hated Evil Queen.

Her legs started to move and before she knew it, she stopped in front of Emma. She stared down at the blonde as the younger woman sat almost completely at ease. She cast a small shadow on the woman in the low, gloomy light of the day and waited until her presence was felt.

Emma opened her eyes and looked up. She met Regina's gaze and ran through all the questions in her head before she asked one. 

"My mom told me those eels were Flotsam and Jetsam. At least, that's what you said."

Regina gave a single nod and allowed Emma to continue. She knew when the blonde didn't understand something, the woman would lead in with a supposed fact then go on to ask about what confused her.

"And Ursula..." Emma slowly started again. "Had a thing for Ariel."

"Yes."

"What the hell twisted fairy tale are we in?"

"You don't even know the story and you think it's 'twisted?'"

"Peter Pan is evil, my mom is Snow White, Henry's dad is Rumpelstiltskin's son. Excuse me if Ursula wanting to sleep with Ariel has my head spinning."

"She didn't just want to sleep with Ariel..." Regina trailed off as she gave Emma the chance to piece together the puzzle for herself.

Emma blankly stared at Regina before she figured it out.

"Oh my god!"

Regina wasn't surprised or amused at how long it took the blonde to come to the truthful conclusion.

"Ursula, a slimy, evil octopus with dark magic, had sex with the innocent and wistful mermaid Ariel?!"

"Like you haven't had hate sex," Regina casually threw back as though she were defending her own actions.

"That is the not the same thing," Emma insisted.

"Oh, and how is it different?"

"I... It... I don't know! But that's my childhood. As fucked up as it was, Regina, these fairy tales were all I had. I was...I was Henry once, you know. Before I found out that all the stories he claimed were real, were actually real."

"Then I'll try not to take pleasure in telling you the truth about what the Disney version didn't tell you."

Emma stared at Regina and didn't say another word as she waited for the brunette to inform her on the reality of Ariel's story.

"Everything up until the happy ending portrayed in the movie is true," Regina started to explain. "Ursula gave Ariel what she wanted. She let Ariel see what it was like to be human for three days for a price. Something she learned from Rumpelstiltskin."

"Yeah, Ursula gave Ariel legs in exchange for her voice," Emma stated with boredom. "That part I'm familiar with."

"Here's the part you're not. Ursula made that deal because she was sure Ariel couldn't get Prince Eric to fall in love with her in such a short time, especially without a voice."

"But Ursula didn't know about Prince Eric until she had her eel lackeys spy on Ariel," Emma interjected.

"No, but Ariel would only remain human if she found true love and sealed it with a kiss."

"Why does everything come down to true love's kiss," Emma rhetorically asked with a frown.

Snow, as if on cue, walked by and overheard her daughter's question.

"Because true love is the most powerful magic of all," Snow mindlessly answered like a knee jerk reaction.

Regina and Snow locked eyes.

"And you would know that better than anyone, wouldn't you," Regina venomously stated. "I'm glad to know you listened to me at least once in your pathetic and whimsical life, you ungrateful-"

"Hey," Emma stopped Regina before she could finish her rant and tear off Snow's head.

Regina looked down at Emma and acknowledged the blonde for a moment before she took a deep breath. She released it as she closed her eyes and turned back to Snow then opened her eyes again, her rage buried once again.

"Yes," Regina continued. "True love is indeed the most powerful magic of all."

"Okay, so Ariel got the guy to kiss her," Emma said.

"No," Regina said as she redirected her attention to Emma and refused to look at the raven haired woman she loathed that stood beside her. "Ursula used Ariel's voice to try to get the prince to marry her instead.  She made sure the ceremony was at sunset so Ariel couldn't possibly convince Eric it was her voice, that she was the one to save him from the shipwreck. Also, it would guarantee Ariel's time would run out before she had to say 'I do.'"

Charming came to stand beside his wife just as Emma asked another question.

"In this version, the real story," Emma started. "Did Ursula end up with Eric?"

"Of course not," Regina replied. "I told you she did more than just want to sleep with Ariel, didn't I?"

Snow winced.

"What are you saying, Regina," Snow asked. "What did Ursula do?"

"She killed King Triton in front of Ariel as his daughter's time ran out. When Ariel reverted back her mermaid self, Ursula whisked her away and made her a slave."

"A slave," Emma asked.

"Ursula returned Ariel's voice just before she claimed the girl in her dungeon," Regina finished without flourish or pleasure. She stated it as a simple unchangeable fact.

"But her eels," Snow questioningly piped up. "They seemed to be intently staring at this ship."

"Not the ship," Regina darkly corrected. "Emma."

"What? Why," Charming asked with a strong and worried voice. "If Ursula has Ariel, as tragic as that is, why would she send the eels to spy on Emma?"

Regina couldn't answer. She didn't have an explanation. Instead, another voice spoke in her place.

"Ariel didn't survive the years of torture," Hook loudly informed from his place at the wheel. "Decades ago, before I found myself working for the Queen here, those who were loyal to King Triton tried to help Ariel escape. Ursula caught her before she was successful and killed her. She made an example of Ariel by making her death public. She declared that anyone who dare defy her would suffer the same ill fate."

"That sick bitch better keep her tentacles to herself," Emma said as she stood in a huff.

"Just another reason to keep moving," Regina said.

"What happens if Ursula finds us again," Snow asked.

"If that happens, I strongly suggest someone stays with Emma at all times," Regina answered.

"I can take care of myself," Emma argued.

"The only way to know that's true," Rumple appeared out of the hatchway. "Is if you can defend yourself against Regina."

"What," Snow breathlessly asked. "How would that even help?"

"If Emma can defend herself against Regina's magic, she may have a fighting chance against Ursula... should Ursula get her hands on Emma."

"And if she can't," Charming asked.

"Then it may be best to teach Emma how to use her own magic," Rumple suggested.

"I'm almost one hundred percent sure I can't compete with Regina's magic," Emma said.

"Of course you can't, deary," Rumple grinned. "You haven't been trained. You could dodge her attacks maybe, but there's no way for you to fight back. Not without magic. I could teach you."

Snow and Charming looked at each other and seemed to be thinking it over. Regina saw and instantly snapped at them.

"You two idiots aren't seriously going to let him teach her magic, are you," Regina asked, somewhat angered and appalled.

"He taught you, didn't he," Snow asked without thinking.

"I wouldn't consider myself a success story, dear," Regina quipped.

"She's right," Charming agreed.

"Can I get a say in this," Emma said as she stepped between the group with a raised hand.

"Shall I teach you then," Rumple asked her with a small yet noticeably squalid grin.

If she hadn't put up with him for years, Regina's skin would have crawled with such a look on the sadistic man's face. Snow and Charming, however, didn't have as much experience and his expression caused them severe discomfort.

"No," Emma answered.

"And what about Ursula," Snow carefully asked, her tone purely registered as protective mother.

"I didn't say I wouldn't learn magic," Emma said.

"How else are you going to-" Snow didn't finish her sentence. She stopped herself as she inwardly answered her own incomplete question.

Charming still seemed a little lost. His expression changed when Emma looked at Regina.

"You want to learn from me," Regina asked.

"No. There's no way that's happening," Charming insisted.

"I'm twenty-nine years old," Emma started. "You can't tell me what to do. And, as everyone here has pointed out, I'm going to have to defend myself somehow."

Snow wanted to object, wanted to tell Emma there were other ways, but she couldn't suggest a single thing. Nothing could guarantee her daughter's safety. Nothing but magic.

"So," Emma turned back to Regina. "Will you teach me?"

"It's not a matter of will on my part, it's a matter of subordination on yours," Regina responded. "If I teach you, it'll be on my terms and you'll have to actually listen to me. Something you and your mother refuse to do."

Emma rolled her eyes.

"That's the only way this will work. Do you understand," Regina asked.

"Yeah. I got it," Emma replied.

"We should start as soon as possible," Regina started. "But that also means we'll have to keep moving. No time to stop like we did today. Even the smallest amount of magic used will draw out unwanted company."

Regina looked around at the group then settled her attention on Hook.

"Do you have any weapons on board," she asked the pirate. 

"Unfortunately, no," Hook answered.

"Are you ready to deviate course several times?"

"Why would I need to do that?"

"Are. You. Ready," Regina repeated her question with more force and seriousness.

"Yeah," Hook finally answered, displeased to be ordered around.

Regina swirled her hand around a couple of times as she flicked her wrist. A puff of thin purple smoke surrounded her moving hand and within seconds, she lowered it to her side. The smoke cleared and a familiar sword appeared in her hand.

"My sword," Charming said as he stepped up to Regina and reached out for it.

Regina handed it over to him as she turned back to Hook.

"Change course now," Regina instructed. "If we have to come back here to get to Henry, we at least wait until nightfall."

Hook nodded, slightly disgruntled. He obliged nonetheless.

Regina looked at Charming again.

"I trust you'll use that wisely," she patronized him.

Charming didn't dignify her with a response and stared down at his sword as he adjusted to the weight of it in his hand.

"Guess we'll finally find out who the better sorcerer is," Rumple smirked.

Regina glared at him and tried not to be intimidated. With Rumpelstiltskin overshadowing her every move, it would definitely make for an even more interesting trip.


	4. Chapter 4

Emma sat cross legged on the floor in the center of her and Regina's shared room. She looked both annoyed and impatient as Regina headed toward her with a worn down candle.

"You're the one who wanted to start teaching me right away," Emma complained the closer Regina got to her.

"Until you go looking for a candle on a normally dormant pirate ship, you don't get to whine about how long it takes to start a magic lesson," Regina replied before she lowered herself onto the floor across from Emma.

Regina mirrored Emma with her legs tucked under herself as she set the candle on the hardwood floor between them. She took a deep breath and released it with a subtle sigh in preparation for the long hour or so ahead of her.

"Whatever," Emma quickly dismissed Regina's comment. "How are we doing this?"

Regina closed her eyes and fought the urge to rub her temples out of frustration. She took a moment to calm down before they even began then opened her eyes.

"You're going to light the candle," Regina answered.

"How?"

“Don't upset me," Regina warned.

"How am I upsetting you? I haven't even done anything yet!"

"You've already done plenty, Miss Swan. I can assure you I don't have a high tolerance for your unrelenting sense of humor."

"Fine. Just tell me how to light the candle."

Regina paused to collect herself yet again before she spoke.

"Clear your mind of everything but the task at hand. Focus on the wick. Imagine the candle already lit."

Emma took a deep breath and stared at the candle. Her eyes never strayed, her focus seemingly on the unlit wick as suggested.

Nothing happened.

The room was quiet for the few minutes Emma appeased Regina, but she couldn't remain committed any longer than that. With a sigh and the drop of her shoulders, Emma tore her eyes off the candle and blinked.

"It's not gonna work," Emma insisted.

"Try harder," Regina pushed.

"Ugh. I can't do this!"

"Fine. Give up," Regina dismissively threw up her hands. "I'll just have to explain to Henry that you refused to learn magic and it got you killed long before you had a chance to be the hero he expects you to be, the mother he expects you to be."

Emma frowned and, for a moment, looked deflated before she sighed and shifted her position on the floor. She adjusted herself and retrained her eyes on the candle. She did as Regina told her and imagined the candle already lit. She allowed thoughts of flames to consume her mind and mentally recreated the flame from her birthday cupcake the day Henry turned her world, her life, completely upside down.

A flame flickered to life and a small, soft orange glow illuminated both Emma and Regina's faces.

Regina grinned.

Emma sharply exhaled as her features expressed delight and wonder. She beamed at the realization, beamed at her ability to use magic on cue.

“I did it,” Emma excitedly said.

“The most basic form of magic,” Regina stated.

“You can't let me enjoy anything, can you.”

“You're capable of much more than lighting a candle,” Regina added. “Enjoy that.”

“Did you just compliment me? Regina Mills just complimented me, Emma Swan.”

“It's not something to get used to,” Regina dismissively said. “Care to learn something more effective for battle?”

“Uh, sure. What else you got?”

“Much more than you're ready for.”

“Like...?”

Regina grinned, a dark glint in her eyes.

Emma recognized the look on Regina's face as her usual malicious intent. Her expression fell to the exact opposite of Regina's, that read, “oh shit”. She quickly looked like she regretted her decision and Regina blissfully noticed.

Magic crackled at Regina's fingertips before she shot out a short burst of electricity. She zapped Emma and gave her a tiny shock.

“Ow!”

Regina chuckled.

“How do you do that,” Emma asked.

“Wouldn't you like to know.”

Emma narrowed her eyes at Regina and thought about making her magic physical. She applied Regina's advice about the candle to feeling her magic in her fingers.

Blue sparks crackled to life after a minute and Emma reached out. She placed her charged up hand on Regina's knee and sent a shock through Regina's body.

“Ah,” Regina jumped under Emma's touch.

Emma laughed as she pulled her hand away.

“Maybe next time you won't underestimate me,” Emma smirked.

“Maybe next time you'll remember what I can do,” Regina's grin reappeared, wider than before.

Regina stood and held out her hand, palm up. She gracefully waved her hand and the candle's flame grew to three times its original size. She flicked her wrist and sent the fire in Emma's direction, off to the side and away from causing major injury.

Emma jerked away, but not in enough time to avoid the fire completely. The flames scorched Emma's pants as she threw herself toward the wall.

“Son of a-” Emma didn't finish her sentence as she looked down to inspect the damage. “These are my only pants!”

“Relax,” Regina said as she waved her hand from left to right. “I told your father and now I'm telling you. There is very little I can't do.”

Emma looked down and saw her pants, fixed as though they'd never been burned.

“Okay, you've been holding out on me,” Emma said. “How do I learn everything you know?”

“Not everything,” Regina frowned. “If I taught you every last thing, you'd be as black-hearted as me. Not many people want that.”

“Fine. So not everything. Just...most of it.”

“I'll teach you basic defenses and attacks. The rest is unnecessary given the circumstances and would take way too much time to teach you.”

Emma sighed.

“I guess that's fair. What's next?”

“You didn't defend yourself against my attack. The fire.”

“Of course not. I wouldn't know what to do.”

“That's exactly my point,” Regina started. “There are a couple of things you can do. You can attack someone in retaliation to protect yourself or you can deflect.”

“Let me guess. I'm about to learn how to deflect.”

“Oh good. You're much smarter than your parents,” Regina teased.

“Play nice.”

“With your parents? Or with you.”

“Both. I'm on your side, remember?”

Regina didn't have a comeback. She didn't even understand why Emma decided to stand up for her the way she had.

“Very well. Let's move on,” Regina changed the subject. “Deflection.”

Emma gave a small, brief smile.

“Deflection requires a little...finesse,” Regina said. “What do you know about magic?”

“You have to feel it. Think about who you're protecting,” Emma casually summarized Rumple's words.

“Okay. Use that knowledge and channel your magic into your hands like you did a minute ago.”

“Then what,” Emma asked.

“That's where the finesse comes in. Attack me.”

“What?”

“You heard me.”

“I thought we just discussed I wouldn't do that.”

“You can and you will,” Regina assured her. “You just need to practice. I want to show you how to defend yourself and it's easier to attack someone, especially when it's you against me.”

Emma laughed.

“You better hope I don't hurt you then,” Emma joked.

“I doubt you could, dear.”

Emma tried to think of a way to magically attack Regina. The candle still lit, she decided to copy Regina's previous attack and use the flame against her. She took a deep breath and thought about Henry, the one thing that seemed to help her control her magic so far that day. She eased her mind and cleared away all thoughts except raising the flame and turned it toward Regina.

Emma looked from the candle to Regina's eyes and focused solely on the woman that stood across from her.

“Need help,” Regina asked with a condescending grin.

The flame rose and Emma smirked.

“I think I've got it.”

Regina's grin transformed from one of condescension to one of satisfaction.

“Watch my hands,” Regina said seconds before Emma flicked her wrist and pushed the fire toward the brunette.

Just seconds after she finished her sentence, Regina raised a defensive hand and waved it from left to right. As she deflected the fire, she aimed it at the wall to Emma's left and charred the wood.

Though her hand moved quickly given the close proximity and severity of the attack, Regina's hand remained stiff as it smoothly, fluidly moved from one side to the other. The fire appeared to bounce off an invisible shield not even an inch in front of Regina's hand.

Emma took notice, as instructed, and saw it all. Her expression showed her wonder and awe at such a feat performed so naturally.

“Wow. I never thought magic was something to study, but...I don't know. It looks good on you,” Emma said and instantly regretted it when she heard the words leave her mouth.

Emma closed her eyes and tried to pretend she was anywhere else.

Regina laughed.

“You gave me a compliment. Emma Swan gave me, Regina Mills, a compliment,” Regina threw back Emma's earlier tease in the blonde's face.

“My first and my last,” Emma responded as she opened her eyes.

Regina's laughter died down, but her smile still remained.

“If you insist,” Regina said as she moved her hand with flourish over the blackened wall at a distance.

Emma turned and watched the other woman repair the wall. When Regina's hand fell to her side, the wall appeared as untouched as it had before the fire burned it.

“Can you teach me how to do that,” Emma asked as she pointed to the wall.

“Next time,” Regina said. “You still don't know how to protect yourself. Healing, or repairing in that case, is maybe the third most important thing to learn. Of course, that's just in my opinion and my experience.”

“Fine,” Emma shrugged. “Deflection.”

“Are you ready to try it,” Regina asked.

Emma nodded.

“Okay,” Regina said as she held her hand, palm up, at her hip and created a fireball. “You need to act fast.”

Emma nodded again.

Regina took a step back, fireball at the ready, and took a deep breath.

Emma watched as Regina raised her hand closer toward her ribs and the sight reminded her of the last time she was at the well in the woods of Storybrooke. Emma's mind flashed from present day to that moment as she stared at the brunette. She remembered how Henry had gotten her to burn the spell that would make someone love another person. It had no relevance to the current moment, but it was an image she couldn't shake.

“Ready,” Regina asked again.

“Yeah,” Emma breathed out and readied herself.

Regina noticeably pulled her hand back in aim. She made sure Emma knew where the fireball was so the blonde could protect herself as planned, to give the younger woman a chance to learn, a chance in general.

Emma kept her eyes on the fireball and tried to feel her own magic. She thought of who she was protecting in that moment. Herself.

As Regina flung the fireball at Emma, the blonde lifted her hand in front of herself and tried to push the fireball away. As she moved her hand from right to left, her magic didn't sustain itself and the fireball soared past her hand and burned the bottom half of Emma's shirt at her left hip.

Emma keeled over at the waist and yelped as she felt the burn, her shirt ruined and her skin welted.

Regina winced as she closed the space between them, her arms outstretched toward Emma. She placed one hand on Emma's shoulder and with the other, she reached for Emma's injury.

“Ah,” Emma cringed and leaned against the once charred wall on her left side. “Fuck.”

“Let me see,” Regina calmly said as she nudged Emma to lean on her back against the wall.

Emma permitted Regina to turn her body to face the other woman, but kept her head down as she scrunched up her face.

Emma's long blonde hair covered her face and most of her torso, which prevented Regina from seeing the burn she'd caused.

“Look up,” Regina instructed as she removed her hand from Emma's shoulder and hooked her fingers under the woman's chin. She tilted Emma's head upward and looked down at red flesh.

Emma grunted and looked down as she felt the sting and hotness of the burn. She hissed and squirmed as her hair fell in front of the injury again.

“I can fix it,” Regina said. “But you have to look up. I can't fix it if I can't see it.”

Emma groaned and slowly looked up. She closed her eyes as she rested her head against the wall and deeply sighed.

“You were going easy on me and I still couldn't defend myself. Guess my own safety isn't as much of a motivator as I thought.”

Regina kept her eyes on Emma's burn and held her hand over the raw and sensitive skin. Gradually, her hand emitted a faint purple glow and highlighted Emma's hip with the same light.

“It's not easy learning magic,” Regina started. “You did much better than I did the first time I learned to protect myself.”

Emma laughed.

“I doubt that.”

“Why would I lie to you about that,” Regina asked. “In case you haven't noticed, I like to be right about a lot of things and I don't like looking incompetent.”

Emma thought about it. She knew Regina well enough to know she spoke the truth.

“Why would you tell me that?”

Regina's magic coursed through Emma's veins as the brunette healed her. Emma would be lying if she said she didn't like how it felt. There was a unique signature the brunette's magic left in her even after Regina would pull away.

“I don't know. Motivation, inspiration.  Maybe you work better when you're confident, or in your case cocky.”

Emma took a deep breath and Regina's magic settled. The brunette pulled her hand away and slowly took a step back from the younger woman.

Emma opened her eyes and looked down. Her skin looked as good as new, the same could not be said for her clothes.

“You couldn't fix my shirt while you were at it,” Emma asked.

“I could have not healed you at all,” Regina shot back.

Emma huffed out a sigh before she spoke.

“Thank you.”

“...You're welcome.”

Regina looked at Emma's ripped and burned shirt.

“Would you like me to fix it,” Regina finally asked.

“If it's not too much trouble. I really don't want to die of hypothermia,” Emma answered without malice or venom of any amount.

“It's not a problem,” Regina said as she waved her hand again. She waved it across the expanse of the affected material.

The shirt knitted back together before both women's eyes. Emma, though she'd witnessed Regina fix the wall and her pants, still stared in awe at the work Regina did. Regina stood completely immune to the wonder.

“I don't think I'll ever get used to that, Emma confessed.

“I'm not sure you'll have the chance to adjust,” Regina said. “But...if you do, it becomes second nature. Nothing spectacular.”

“I've been using magic on and off since I saved you from the wraith months ago,” Emma started. “I'm not used to half the things I've done using it.”

“Magic like that...it still amazes me. Rumpelstiltskin may have taught me much, but magic like yours can't possibly be taught. Magic like yours is something those like Maleficent wish to covet for themselves.”

“Maleficent. Like Sleeping Beauty Maleficent?”

“One in the same.”

“Is my magic something...you would want for yourself,” Emma slowly asked.

Regina scanned Emma from head to toe and back again until their eyes locked.

“It's just that....you used my magic to help get us out of trouble earlier with the eels,” Emma trailed off.

“At one time or another, perhaps. However, I've taken many things from people, but magic wasn't one of them. Now, I'm fine with the power I have and the control I have over it.”

Emma nodded in understanding.

“Look, if you don't want to try any more spells today-”

“No, I need to learn. Clearly I still can't defend myself and I need to be able to do that much if I expect to save Henry,” Emma quickly and honestly answered. “Throw some more fire at me. I'll get it this time.”

“Determined,” Regina stated before she created another fireball in her right hand.

“Kind of have to be,” Emma said. “It's the only reason I made it through the system. On the streets. In prison.”

Regina almost looked guilty as she stared at Emma. The thought and expression immediately faded as she focused on the task at hand. To be the teacher, not the compassionate young girl she was once upon a time.

“Whenever you're ready,” Regina said.

Emma took a deep breath and slowly released it. With her eyes closed, she envisioned Henry and her desire to bring him home. She thought about how she promised he wouldn't grow up like her and thought about all the ways she had failed him since she gave him up for adoption. She tried not to think of her failures as failures, that she had done at least one thing right by giving him up.

“I'm ready,” Emma said as she kept her eyes closed.

“Are you sure,” Regina asked.

Emma replayed the memory of Henry being pulled into the portal with Greg, or rather Owen, and Tamara. She shot her eyes open, darkened with a fierceness Regina had only seen once when they argued on her walkway about Henry when she'd been accused of murder.

“Let's go,” Emma said.

Regina threw the fireball at Emma and watched the blonde successfully push it back in Regina's direction. Regina grinned and palmed the fireball before she closed her hand into a fist. The fireball disappeared.

“Very nice,” Regina complimented, still grinning.

“Again.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah. Come on.”

Regina cocked her head to the side with a stifled chuckle and a smirk.

“As much fun as that would be,” Regina started with a predatory tone, low and sultry. “But just in case Ursula sends her eels again there are a few other things I think you should learn before you start practicing. It will be better for you to at least do several things once than to practice one thing several times so you can try to properly defend yourself should things go wrong.”

“Right,” Emma sadly said with a frown as she stared at the ground.

“Are you worried,” Regina asked.

Emma found Regina's eyes before she responded.

“A little. What if...what if I'm not good enough and I can't save Henry?”

Regina gave a tight-lipped smile, forced and sad.

“I know the feeling,” Regina admitted. “But...someone once told me 'you might not be strong enough, but maybe we are.'”

Emma's jaw dropped. She didn't know what to say. For the first time, she stood speechless mid-conversation with Regina Mills as she heard the woman quote her.

“For Henry's sake,” Regina started. “We need to be in this together.”

Emma sighed as she curled her lips into a small smile that didn't completely reach her eyes.

“Thanks,” Emma said.

Regina blinked a few times at the blonde's words.

“For what?”

“Teaching me magic, saving my mom's life the other day,” Emma shrugged with a nervous smile.

Regina saw Emma's smile and it reminded her of their conversation outside Granny's diner during the welcome home party for Mary Margaret and Emma. The sight filled Regina with a sudden and foreign warmth in the pit of her stomach. It fluttered up to her chest like butterflies and surrounded her heart. Immediately, she averted her eyes to get rid of the feeling. Slowly, it faded. When she felt in control of herself again, she met Emma's gaze a second time.

“We should continue with the lesson, Miss Swan,” Regina quickly changed the subject.

“Sure,” Emma gave a single nod. “What's next?”

If she noticed Regina's avoidance, she didn't show it.

“Conjuring,” Regina said, thankful Emma hadn't questioned her actions.

Regina twirled her wrist and made an apple appear in her hand from a cloud of purple smoke.

“Don't think I'm gonna eat that just because you're being nice to me,” Emma said as she pointed to the apple.

Regina chuckled with a devious grin and wicked gleam in her eyes as she looked from Emma to the apple. She looked back at Emma and brought the apple to her lips. She bit into it and grinned again as she stared at Emma while she chewed. Once she swallowed, she extended the apple to Emma.

“Care for a bite?”

Emma's eyes fell from Regina's to the apple. She kept her gaze on the apple for a few long seconds before she looked into Regina's eyes again and took the apple.

“This better not be poisoned because I'm starving,” Emma said before she bit into the untouched side of the apple.

Regina shook her head with a smug expression.

“Are you ready to conjure something yourself?”

“Yeah,” Emma answered with a full mouth.

Emma held the apple out to Regina in offering.

“No, thank you. Finish it if you'd like.”

Emma swallowed the piece she'd chewed off.

“Thanks,” Emma said. “I can conjure anything, right?”

“Yes. Just think of the object you wish to obtain and hold out your hand expectantly.”

“You didn't just hold out your hand. You did the whole wrist thing.”

“Yes, but I know how to control my magic. It'll be easier for you to conjure something that fits in the palm of your hand.”

“I know just the thing,” Emma smiled then stared at her free hand as she held it palm up in front of her face.

After a few moments of thinking of only one thing, it appeared in her hand out of a blue puff of smoke.

“Yes,” Emma victoriously hissed.

Regina rolled her eyes, but she couldn't contain her smile as she watched Emma bring a greasy cheeseburger with all the fixings to her mouth and take a large bite.

Emma appreciatively hummed as she reveled in the taste.

“I'm so glad I have magic,” Emma said as she continued to chew. “Mm! Here.”

Regina looked to Emma's outstretched hand and took back the apple. The second it left the blonde's hand, Emma grabbed the burger with her free hand and took another bite. Regina accepted the woman's behavior and flicked her wrist in a fluid motion that ended with her pointing two fingers at her bed.

Purple smoke covered Regina's palm and dissipated as a small cloud of the same smoke appeared on top of the sheets.

Emma followed Regina's fingers and watched the smoke clear to reveal the twice bitten apple perched beside Regina's pillow with both bite marks on display.

“Do keep in mind I only taught you how to conjure so you can have any desired weapon at your disposal, should the need arise for you to protect yourself or others.”

“Right,” Emma started between chews. “Well, right now I'm protecting everyone on this ship from my crankiness if I don't eat something.”

Suddenly, the room shifted as the ship presumably jerked from one direction to the other.

Emma shot out a hand as she stumbled toward the bunk bed and braced herself on the connecting post that framed and attached the two beds. She managed to keep the burger in her hand, but she couldn't school her features to conceal her shocked expression, eyes wide.

The movement shook Regina and threw her toward the bunk bed as well. As she exclaimed “oh”, she slammed into Emma and unintentionally pinned the blonde against the bed post. Instinctively, Regina grabbed the wooden bed frame for the top bunk with her right hand and Emma's hip with her left.

Emma grunted when she felt Regina's weight trap her body between the brunette's body and the post. Their lips were inches apart, close enough for their breath to mingle. Green eyes stared at plump lips for a moment before they wandered up to find brown eyes. Neither spoke and before either of them had a chance to do so, the ship rocked then drastically changed direction again.

Both women were thrown to the right and in the blink of an eye, they flipped positions. Regina's shoulder blades connected with the top bunk's wooden bed frame and Emma crashed into her.

Emma gripped the wooden frame with both hands on either side of Regina's shoulders. As she'd fallen on top of the brunette, she'd dropped the burger on the floor, but she couldn't care to think about that as she found brown eyes again.

Regina parted her lips to speak, but no words fell from her mouth. Not even the tiniest of sounds escaped her. She took a deep breath to help her form words, but before her brain could follow her actions, a booming voice filled the hallway outside their room.

“Emma! Emma, are you okay,” Charming asked, concern and slight fear in his tone.

Emma pushed off Regina and left the brunette pressed against the bunk bed of Regina's own accord. She turned to the door and kept her eyes focused on the doorway as she anticipated her father's presence.

“Yeah. We're in here. We're okay,” Emma answered.

Charming hurried into the room, his eyes found Emma first then briefly he looked over her shoulder at the former Queen. He looked at Emma again and placed his hands on both of her shoulders before he continued.

“There's a storm. We need all hands on deck. It's rough out there,” Charming explained.

Emma nodded.

“Mom?”

“She's okay. She's working with Rumple to work the sails.”

“Okay. What can we do?”

Charming looked from Emma to Regina.

“Magic?”

“You want to whisk us all away again,” Regina asked as she took a step away from the bunk bed and toward Charming. “What happens when I run out of energy?”

“You were fighting off eels before you moved us to this part of the land,” Charming started. “This time all you have to do is transport the ship.”

“Dad,” Emma warningly started. “She needs her strength. For Henry.”

Charming stared into his daughter's pleading eyes for a moment. It was enough.

“Okay,” he gave a single nod. “Then you can help with the sails. There's a nasty wind. Your mother and Rumple are struggling to do anything right now.”

“Got it,” Emma said before she turned to Regina as the brunette stopped short just behind her and off to her left. “You ready for this?”

Regina nodded.

“Then let's do this.”

Charming, Regina, and Emma popped out of the hatchway and onto the deck. Immediately, all were met with a heavy downpour of rain.

Emma's long, blonde hair weighed her down after only seconds out in the storm. There wasn't a single part of her that wasn't drenched.

The same could be said for Regina as she stood alongside Emma. The brunette had to squint to see anything other than constant rainfall.

I doubt Jimmy Buffet would sing so pleasantly about getting caught in this kind of rain, Regina mused as she tried to keep her thoughts light.

Somehow, that thought struck Regina as odd considering that, even though she'd listened to a few Jimmy Buffet songs, the comment sounded more like something Emma would say.

Choppy water smashed into the ship and the Jolly Rodger violently swayed again.

Hook held fast to the wheel while Rumple collided with the wooden post of the sail he'd been working on. He clung to it for dear life as Snow stumbled backward. Her tailbone slammed down on the harsh deck, most likely bruised.

Charming's other persona David took over as he clumsily tripped over nothing and jogged over to his wife as if it were an attempt to hide his gracelessness. Emma took after him as she twisted and tumbled onto her side on the deck. She connected with the wood, hard. When the ship bucked against the aggressive waves, Emma effortlessly jumped into the air. It was a choice she hadn't made herself. She hadn't even had time to react before she found herself popped into the air like a kernel in the process of being made into popcorn.

Regina slipped on the wet deck and looked like a professional baseball player sliding into home plate before she managed to grab one of the ropes attached to a nearby sail. She gripped tightly to the rope and used it to anchor herself, keep her from sliding any further down the deck. She whipped her wet hair out of her face and tried to look back at the Charming clan. Her eyes landed on Emma as her flying lesson ended and the blonde's body thumped down on the deck.

The water on the deck caused Emma to slide, much like Regina, but not as far across the wood. She scrunched up her face as pain shot through her entire body. Air left her lungs upon impact and she assumed she'd be covered in bruises when she had the chance to inspect herself after the storm. She groaned as she slowly rolled onto her side and tried to sit up. After she propped herself up on one of her elbows, she instantly regretted trying to get up at all. Directly in her line of sight, she saw lightning flare in the murky gray clouds.

A clap of thunder growled and caused the ship to rumble and shake. It wasn't felt in comparison to the dangerous and high waves that threatened to drown everyone on board.

A lightning strike shot down in the nearby distance and illuminated the water beneath the surface.

“Mermaids,” Emma exclaimed as her eyes widened in realization.

“Emma, get back,” Snow called out to her daughter.

Regina let go of the rope and scrambled to her feet. If mermaids and a raging storm hadn't been an issue, the sight of the former Queen getting to her feet in that moment would have been comical. She nearly tripped over her own feet before she almost slipped on the slick deck again. After a goofy, ungraceful moment, Regina stood and hurried to one side of the ship.

Snow, Charming, and Rumple stood on the opposite side of the ship where the mermaids had been spotted. Regina looked over the neglected side of the ship. Her jaw slowly dropped. What she saw was shocking enough to rid her olive skin of all color. She stood stock still, her face as pale as white linen sheets.

“No,” Regina breathed out, her voice as small and soft as a whisper.

The ship lurched again and jostled Regina not only physically but mentally as she snapped back to the present. She braced herself on the edge of the ship, both hands on the banister.

A yelp sounded somewhere behind Regina and the brunette didn't hesitate to turn to find the source of it.

Snow had a hand raised to her own face but left it hovering. Within a matter of seconds, Regina realized why. A pinkish orange starfish covered the left side of her face. The unexpected creature subtly moved against the woman's cheek. It only took a moment or two before Snow let out a pained scream and clawed at the starfish. As she tried to pull the starfish off her face, she shrieked. It wouldn't budge.

“Snow,” Charming called out.

Before anyone knew what was happening, the ship was under attack.

“Shit,” Hook muttered through gritted teeth.

Hook tightened his grip on the wheel and tried to steer them out of harms way, but nothing he did seemed to help.

“We're surrounded,” Charming announced as he struggled to successfully split his attention between the attack and his wife.

Emma had just barely gotten to her feet when a mermaid with auburn hair leaped out of the water with what appeared to be another starfish in hand.

The mermaid flung the starfish at the ship and the creature landed on Charming's thigh. The mermaid disappeared under the sea to rejoin the rest of them.

At first, Charming didn't react to the starfish other than to acknowledge its presence on his thigh. But, like Snow, only seconds later did he feel the starfish move.

“Gah,” Charming gave a strangled yell then hissed.

Rumple grabbed his forgotten cane and waited until another mermaid attempted the same thing, starfish at the ready to throw. He swung his cane at the mermaid in a combination of sword wielding and hammering a nail.

The mermaid arched her back and dove in a back-flip into the water. She tossed the starfish at the older man but it fell short and attacked the side of the ship. The wood underneath it started to creak, not that anyone heard it.

Regina opened her mouth to warn Emma of what she'd seen as she tried to take even a step toward the blonde and away from the side of the ship. The second she tried to move, though, the storm threw the ship to one side. The Jolly Roger shifted toward the side Regina tried to move away from and the action caused the former Queen to bang against the banister. When her lower back connected with it, two merpeople – one merman, one mermaid – jumped up and grabbed either one of Regina's arms. She felt their grip tighten as she tried to fight them off.

The merpeople used their forearms to hold themselves up on the banister. The merman reached into the water with his free hand and grabbed a starfish. The mermaid on Regina's other side mirrored the merman's action.

Before Regina could summon her magic, the merman slapped the starfish on Regina's left wrist. A few seconds later, the mermaid placed her starfish on Regina's right wrist.

Regina yelled out when the starfish began to massage her wrists in a most excruciating manner. She felt the starfish suck at her wrists and it surprisingly kept her from using her magic.

Emma spun around to see Regina trapped by the merpeople. Her eyes widened when she saw the anguished expression on Regina's face. She took two steps toward Regina and looked around the ship for something with which she could attack. Her eyes landed on the starfish and it clicked. She took a deep breath and slowly released it as she tried to focus. She awkwardly held out her hands and thought only about how she wanted to use her magic, what she wanted to do it protect someone. To protect Regina.

Energy, or rather magic, surged through her like it had in the mine in Storybrooke and again when she helped fight off the eels on the ship. It took a few moments, like charging a battery, before she outwardly expressed her magic.

Regina opened her eyes in time to see Emma shoot a steady blue streak of magic out of either hand, directed at her.

Oh, no, Regina thought as she watched the magic approach her.

Regina closed her eyes and squeezed them tight seconds before she felt a strange yet familiar warmth consume her wrists. She quickly opened her eyes when the warmth disappeared and took the pain she'd felt with it. She looked into Emma's eyes for a moment before she looked down at her wrists. The starfishes were gone. So were the merpeople that had restrained her.

Regina hurried across the deck, away from the side of the ship.

“You look surprised,” Emma said as Regina fast-walked in her direction.

“You still don't know how to truly control your magic. I didn't think you could do that without proper training.”

Emma curled her lips into a lazy smirk.

“Did I impress the Evil Queen,” she asked.

“You will if you can do it again,” Regina said as she reached out and turned Emma to face Snow and Charming.

Emma spotted her parents in pain, each with a starfish on them. She immediately understood Regina's words in that moment.

“I can't do that. I wasn't even sure it would work when I did it to help you!”

“Oh, so if you had accidentally killed me using your magic that would've been completely worth the risk,” Regina asked, a little hurt but not at all surprised by Emma's confession.

“I thought the worst thing I could do was hurt your hands,” Emma admitted. “One of them is on my mom's face!”

Regina let that comment wash over her like the pounding rain. Only one of them could freak out at a time and at that moment in time, Emma took it upon herself to be the one to do it. She relaxed and took a step closer to Emma from behind the blonde. She wrapped her hands around Emma's wrists and raised the younger woman's hands.

“What are you doing,” Emma nervously asked.

“Just do exactly what you did a minute ago. Whatever you were thinking, whatever you were feeling...think and feel it now. It should be easier. They're your parents and I'm the bitch that did everything in her power to make your life hell since you arrived in my town.”

Emma took a few calming breaths and closed her eyes for a moment.

Rumple surveyed the rest of the people on the ship after his eyes scanned over the mermaid infested water. His gaze fixed on the young Sheriff and a twisted grin slowly appeared on his face. Not only did he see the girl in a stance that suggested she was about to use magic, but Regina stood behind the girl in such a way. His eyes fell to Emma's wrists and he noticed Regina rub her fingertips in circles over fair skin.

“Feel your magic start in your heart and come down to your wrists. Right here,” Regina applied more pressure with her fingertips on the blonde's wrists to ensure she would be understood.

Emma slowly opened her eyes and looked straight at the starfish on Snow's cheek.

“She keeps moving,” Emma grumbled.

“It's okay. Just follow where she moves. Nothing else about what you do will change.”

Regina, once Emma made her new concern known, guided Emma's hands in the direction of Snow as the woman walked toward Charming. She kept panic and worry out of her tone, even as she turned to look over her shoulder at the side of the ship she'd been taken hostage. She forced herself to stay calm as her hands remained on Emma's wrists while the green glow started to emanate from the water. She knew she had to do something fast. Time was running out before things went from bad to worse. She turned back to long blonde hair and stopped rubbing circles over Emma's wrists.

“Breathe. Focus,” Regina soothingly instructed.

Emma's breath steadied and after a few more seconds, she repeated her actions, thoughts, and feelings from the first time she'd performed that kind of magic.

Blue streaks of energy shot out of her hands and hit the starfish on Snow's face. Her magic dried out the starfish and it dropped lifelessly to the floor at the raven-haired woman's feet.

“Now your father,” Regina said as she redirected Emma's attention to Charming.

Regina let go of one of Emma's wrists and turned half of her body to look back at the other side of the ship.

The green glow had grown stronger.

A mermaid jumped out of the water and threw another starfish at them.

Regina curled her fingers and took control of the starfish mid-air and flicked her wrist as she moved her arm like the wind up of a pitch. She threw the starfish over the ship and into the water on the opposite side. She managed to strike one of the merpeople with it and the creature retreated before it had the chance to attack.

“Come on, Emma,” Regina forcefully coached the blonde. “Do it one more time. We have bigger problems arising.”

Emma turned to look back at Regina.

Regina felt Emma lower the arm she still held onto and her eyes snapped to the younger woman.

“Don't worry about it yet. Get that starfish off of him now,” Regina ordered as purple clouded her irises.

Emma gulped, though not entirely afraid of Regina in that moment, and looked away from the brunette. She focused yet again on her father's thigh as he sat, writhing in pain, against the side of the ship.

Snow stayed by her husband's side and ran a hand through his hair as she tried to keep him calm. She wanted to help minimize his pain if not eliminate it completely.

Emma felt the urge to revert back into the sad and scared little girl she once was and cry over her father's pain, afraid there was nothing she could do. But she knew there was something she could do. What else did she need other than her knowledge to do it again, to help her own father?

Regina's hand left Emma's other wrist and the blonde suddenly felt alone. Immediately, she started to doubt herself. The first time she'd gotten rid of the starfishes on Regina, it was luck. The second time, when she got them off Snow, it was with assistance. She didn't believe she could really do it a third time.

Regina stood back-to-back with Emma, their bodies several inches apart, as the brunette faced the opposite side of the ship. She flung out her hands at each mermaid and merman that dared to emerge from the sea. She threw them back with flick after flick of the wrist. All of them were unable to release the starfishes each one threateningly held in their hands.

Harsh waves smashed into the front end of the ship and the force of it nearly overturned the Jolly Roger. Everyone on board slid and shifted but for the most part they managed to stay on their feet.

Emma lost all focus after the ship tipped toward the back end. She kept her hands at her sides when she was finally stable again. She frowned and almost broke down in tears as she allowed herself to think she couldn't help Charming.

Regina took less than a second to refocus on the onslaught of mermaids that started to latch themselves onto the ship. Her eyes started to glow purple again as she felt her magic rush through her as naturally as her blood coursed through her veins. She growled as she saw them hold on tightly to the banister as they prepared to throw more starfishes. A few, more vicious, mermaids opened their mouths and gave guttural screeches. Their teeth were as sharp as a shark's as they snarled at Regina. Their faces were sickly gray, dark circles under their sunken eyes.

Disgusting, Regina thought.

All the more easier to do what she did next.

Regina raised her hands palms up, and the choppy water rose with them. In one quick, fluid movement, Regina flipped her hands toward herself and moved them closer to her face. Then she flicked her wrists and pushed her hands outward, away from herself. The motion brought heavy waves down onto the mermaids latched to the banister. When she pushed her hands away from herself, it caused the waves to pull the mermaids from the ship while only some of the waves covered the deck on top of the torrential rain.

“Regina...” Emma more whispered to herself than called out to the woman.

Regina heard it all the same.

The purple in her eyes faded in less than a second as her attention snapped from the mermaids to Emma. She turned to face the younger woman and noticed, over the blonde's shoulder that Charming still had a starfish attached to his thigh.

“Why can't you do it,” Emma asked her, a little panicked. “You have magic and you can control it.”

It was like Emma could sense when she had Regina's attention, even when she couldn't see Regina turn to her.

Regina tried not to get too angry with the woman and balled a fist around Emma's soaked through T-shirt. She yanked the blonde backward and out of her way. She stepped in front of Emma and focused on Charming's thigh. She took a deep breath and held out her hands. Within a few moments, she zapped the starfish on Charming's leg with a single bolt of purple lightning. The starfish dried up and fell to the floor as it had when Emma got rid of the one on Snow.

“Thank you,” Charming yelled to Regina over the storm.

The noble prince wasted no time and hurried across almost flooded wood to get to his sword, the one Regina had taken the time to conjure before she disappeared below the deck with Emma for a magic lesson.

Snow, convinced her husband was fine as she watched him take possession of his sword, went back to the sail she'd tried to control when the storm first started with a red, star-shaped mark on her cheek.

But yet another surprise changed the course of their trip within a matter of bone-chilling seconds.

Waves crashed against port side and weighted the ship heavily on its right side. Regina barely had time to glance around the ship as she stumbled toward starboard, but before the ship righted itself with a bit of Hook's help she watched a mermaid jump up and grab Emma's arm.

Emma painfully collided with the right side of the ship, the side Regina had been protecting everyone from, and placed both hands on the banister to keep herself from falling overboard. In the end, it didn't matter. A mermaid came up on her right and gripped her forearm. Emma felt herself being yanked into the water by her forearm and the last thing she saw on the ship was a flash of her own drenched blonde locks as her hair whipped in her face.

“Emma,” Snow screamed in a blood-curdling octave as she watched her daughter's legs shoot into the air then tumble backward before everyone on the ship heard a loud splash.

The second Charming heard Snow's distress about their daughter, he looked away from the mermaids he tried to fend off with his sword and searched the ship for Emma. He only saw Snow and the three others on board that he deemed his enemies.

“No,” he breathed out.

“No,” he repeated louder as he gripped his sword with a surreal amount of force.

He defiantly strode to the other side of the ship, a determined and severely pissed off sternness to his face. His eyes found Regina as the woman he absolutely despised without question took a few steps toward the edge of the ship. He growled as his eyes took on a steely anger he felt as soon as he saw her.

“You,” Charming barked at Regina. “You did this!”

The mermaid that had taken Emma under didn't get far with her before an eel swam up to them faster than any sea creature Regina had ever known. The eel slapped the mermaid with its tale and shocked the mermaid with white-green sparks. A second eel wrapped itself around one of Emma's biceps and waited for the other to finish with the mermaid.

Regina briefly turned to look at Charming to acknowledge his anger.

“I saved your leg,” Regina shouted back. “Emma wouldn't do it so I did.”

“And now what's gonna happen,” Charming asked as he got right in her face. “I'd rather walk with a limp or be temporarily unable to fight than lose my daughter!”

Regina gritted her teeth and snapped her head toward the side of the ship to not only avoid Charming, but check on Emma as well. She walked away from Charming, but he didn't seem to like it. Or at least, that's what Regina took it to mean when he violently grabbed her bicep and tried to spin her around to face him.

She wouldn't have it.

The instant she felt Charming close his hand around her bicep, she threw out her other hand and used it to magically throw him across the deck. He landed in a small puddle near his wife's feet.

Regina didn't pay him any attention after she used her magic on him. She went right up to the right side of the ship and looked over the edge. She saw one eel had wrapped itself around one of Emma's biceps.

Emma wriggled around and bopped the eel on the head a few times with the heel of her palm and her fist. The eel tightened its grip on her bicep and sent a quick jolt into Emma's arm. It affected every part of her as she trembled beneath the shockwaves.

The other eel swam away from the mermaid and left her body to lifelessly float up to the surface. It wrapped itself around Emma's unoccupied bicep and worked with the other eel to pull the blonde human deeper under the sea.

Regina had a choice to make.

“Regina,” Charming angrily yelled as he started to get to his feet.

Regina heard the tip of his sword swipe against the deck as he picked it up, but she kept her eyes on Emma and the two eels. Her breathing quickened the further the eels dragged Emma away from the ship, the green glow of the water fading as they went.

Emma bucked against the eels' hold on her and twisted her body in an attempt to turn back toward the ship. After one eye glowed yellow on both of them, the eels repositioned themselves on her biceps in such a way that allowed her to spin around. They continued to swim toward the bottom of the sea with Emma in their slimy grasp.

Regina's gaze instantly settled on Emma's fearful green eyes as they stared straight at each other through the water.

Something inside the former Queen snapped like a frail twig.

“Save her,” Snow yelled at Regina from her position at one of the sails. “Do whatever you have to. Just bring her back!”

Regina turned to look at Snow. She saw worry in Snow's eyes but also heard a silent threat and seriousness in the woman's tone of voice. Charming, however, asked nothing of Regina. His eyes stared right through her. His anger rolled off of his body and smacked against every ounce of Regina that could still feel anything.

“You make sure that my son is found no matter what happens to Emma,” Regina warningly demanded. “Or the suffering I've put you through the last twenty-eight years will not compare to the suffering I'll put through if you don't get Henry back.”

Regina didn't wait for a response of any kind, not even a promise to do as she ordered, before she turned away from Snow and Charming. She stared down at the distant form of the blonde she'd quickly grown to loathe and vanished in a hectic swirl of dark purple smoke through the horrendous downpour of rain.

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: There's some torture and unwanted touching in this chapter.

Snow and Charming had less than a single moment to figure out what had just happened. Before they could think about the words Regina had said let alone the fact that she'd disappeared right before their eyes, unsure of her intentions, they still had plenty of mermaids to fight off.

Hook kept busy as he tried to steer them out of the storm, which didn't look like much more of a struggle. In the distance, he caught sight of a large ship. It seemed unharmed and not at all endangered. The sky also seemed to change colors off in the direction. Instead of dark gray and extremely heavy rain clouds, the sky appeared to be its dismal light gray with a touch of blue. It appeared the way he remembered it from the last time he'd been in Neverland.

Hook veered his ship toward the one in the distance. He almost knocked everyone onto their asses as he did, but no one stopped what they were doing to scold him. They all readjusted themselves and continued to play Wack-a-Mole, or more appropriately Wack-a-Mermaid, with their attackers.

Snow didn't have a weapon to hit the mermaids with so she went back to the sail. She looked back at Hook to see if she could figure out what his game plan was in order to know which way to guide the sail. When her eyes landed on him through the rain as it pelted down on her, she saw a wicked grin on face that made his glittering eyes seem much more sinister than she thought the pirate to be.

Instead of focusing on the shivers his expression sent down her spine, she followed his determined gaze out across the sea and saw the other ship. She gasped then smiled as she rapidly fixed the sail to help get the ship to the nicer side of the sea.

Rumple beat down on mermaid after mermaid with his cane. He missed the feel of his cane connecting with a lively body until they bled or went limp as the person slipped into unconsciousness. If a merman came up to the surface, their heads would meet the tip of his cane with more force then he felt worthy to use against the mermaids.

One of the mermen that came up had black hair that was a little long, about shoulder length, with a scruffy beard that made Rumple smirk. Given the length of the hair and the teal colored tail, it was foolish for the Dark One to find similarities between Hook and the merman. But that didn't stop him from giving a good, one-handed golf swing at the merman's head. Upon impact, Rumple caused the merman's temple to bleed before the creature retreated below the sea.

He chuckled as he watched the merman swim away, leaving a small trail of blood in his wake. The chuckle sounded more like his Enchanted Forest counterpart, more like the golden sparkling faced Rumpelstiltskin instead of Storybrooke's Mr. Gold. To him, it felt good. It felt right.

Charming jabbed his sword at the mermaids and mermen alike. He didn't care if he got a little blood on his hands at the expense of his life, his wife's life, his daughter's life, or his grandson's life. He had to protect his family and he would do whatever it took to do just that. He wouldn't take pleasure from it, but if it came down to his family or the evil beings that dared attack them there was no question as to who he'd favor in that situation.

Even as the ship rocked and swayed in every direction, he and Rumple worked together to keep the sea creatures in the water. Both men realized, though, that they were passing quite a few opportunities, a few mermaids and mermen missed. There was a handful that they passed by in the ship, but they didn't stop swinging sword and cane.

The rain started to slow and didn't pound down on them any more than a light drizzle. Before anyone expected it, they were back to calmer water and didn't have as hard a time seeing through the rainfall. The storm hadn't completely cleared, but they were close. Even closer to the ship ahead than even Captain Hook realized.

Hanging from a rope, a mysterious man swooped across the foreign ship and landed his black-booted feet on the slippery deck of the Jolly Roger.

“Aye, were you goin' for a swim, mate,” a pirate with hair styled into dreadlocks under a worn out, red bandana asked. “Feels like a bathtub in here.”

The pirate raised his wet boot and shook off the water that dripped off the sole.

“Captain Hook, I presume,” the other pirate spoke with a thick accent as he waved a pointed finger at Hook with a drunken flourish.

“And who might you be, _mate_ ,” Hook asked as he remained behind the wheel.

The other pirate throatily chuckled as he slowly strutted in an odd manner toward Hook. His lips gradually curled into a smug grin as he put one foot in front of the other in somewhat of a dance.

“The name's Jack. _Captain_ Jack Sparrow.”

*** * ***

Purple smoke spun like a concentrated tornado through the depths of the sea. The smoke barreled through it until the underwater kingdom came into view. The smoke began to dissipate and Regina started to sink toward a dark palace not at all like her own in the Enchanted Forest. It was shaped like a fish and not of the nice, innocent nature. An orange-green glow came from inside and lit up the skeleton of the castle. Nothing inside could be seen, just the outline of the castle itself.

Brown eyes scanned over the area around the castle as she tried not to breathe for as long as her lungs would allow. She didn't see a thing. No irritating blonde woman or despicable lackey eels in sight. Not for a few long seconds more at least.

The two eels pulled Emma along, the woman barely breathing as Regina could tell she no longer put up much of a fight. They swam in from the side and approached the strange castle with purpose.

Regina curled her body inward and redirected herself at the castle instead of idly floating around in wait. She swam head first toward the castle and hoped she'd get there in time to grab Emma and get the hell out. She'd heard the story about Ariel, she'd even been the one to tell it on the Jolly Roger. She knew full well what the witch Ursula was capable of, but she'd never experienced it first hand.

And she hoped she never had to.

Just as she reached the mouth of the fish-shaped castle, she felt her lungs ache as they begged for air. She had no idea what the inside would be like, but she figured she'd probably drown before she saw her son, whom she'd do anything to save.

She'd almost died several times both in the Enchanted Forest and Storybrooke, always due to the righteous crowd of people that followed the two idiots' leads. Every time, she prepared herself for the end and occasionally even welcomed it. She had no qualms about leaving the world she found herself in at that time, none whatsoever about dying. But all those times, she'd had good reason not to care whether she lived or died. As she reached the mouth of the castle, however, she couldn't say she felt dying for Emma was worth never seeing Henry again.

She swam through the mouth anyway. Maybe dying for Emma wasn't worth it, but if she got the blonde out of harms way and helped her live, Henry would at least know Regina had truly changed. He'd known she didn't just do one heroic act to clean the slate. She really was the hero he'd called her back in the mine before she and Emma stopped the trigger.

She swam until she saw spots in her eyes. She could feel herself losing consciousness and she didn't know if she would make it into the castle. She felt as though she'd swam for miles – although swimming when you're struggling to breathe could make a short trip feel like an eternity – before she finally squirmed upward. As she looked up in the direction the mouth of the castle forced her in, she could see something on the other side of the water. She wriggled her tightly constricted, airless body toward the glimmer of hope.

After a few seconds, she emerged from the water and sharply, loudly inhaled. She coughed as she breathed in the open air around herself. Her head kept dunking under the water, though, when she failed to focus on a body of land to latch onto nearby. Her body was weak from the lack of oxygen and she couldn't tread water to save her life, literally.

Regina spit out a few ounces of salt water that made her wince in disgust as she bobbed up and down in the calm but rippling water. She ran a hand over her face from her forehead to her chin in order to clear her vision. When she opened her eyes, she caught sight of a wet, cave-like walkway. It seemed more like a tunnel with the occasional coral.

She swam to the edge of the water, where the tunnel began. She threw an arm over the hard, rocky surface and used it to hold up the rest of her body as she attempted to gain control of her breathing. She panted a few times as she looked around the surrounding space.

Behind her, she noticed the mouth of the castle led to the somewhat of an oasis she found herself in. There was a wall similar to the rocky wall and floor of the tunnel in front of her. The water she remained in sat in an open area much like a basin and spilled over the edge of the tunnel's walkway, but didn't flood it.

As far as Regina could see down the tunnel, everything in the underwater castle was dripping wet. Not everything was surrounded by water, which meant she could walk freely as she normally would, but it'd be similar to traveling through a pool with only two or three feet of water.

She took a few deep breaths before she pulled herself out of the water and staggered to her feet. She smoothed out her soaked shirt and balled both fists around the bottom half to squeeze out the excess water. Her efforts were fruitless considering they made no difference. She was still wet. She knew as she walked around in wet clothes, when they started to dry, it was a strong possibility she would start to shiver. The air she could finally breathe was a bit chilly and the ocean water wasn't warm at all.

Another deep breath.

Regina stalked through the tunnel, her black boots splashing in the numerous amounts of puddles that covered the ground.

She turned the corner and followed the castle tunnel as far as it would take her. After she made her way down the second hallway that led to a wider and more inhabited area up ahead, a heart-wrenching scream bounced off every last wall in the place and rang out in Regina's ears. She stopped where she stood the instant she heard it.

_That can't be good,_ Regina thought to herself as slight panic quickly set in. 

She'd never heard Emma scream before, but she didn't think what she'd heard could come from anyone else but the blonde.

Regina hurried her pace into a light jog through the damp and puddled terrain. Another scream, accompanied by a faint light show came from a back room past where the tunnel turned into the more inhabited looking area.

_Definitely not good._

Regina ran to the next tunnel looking area, more like a hallway, where the light and screams seemed to originate. She peered around the corner just as a low-toned, throaty chuckle erupted from none other than the sea witch herself.

“Oh, I love it when they scream,” Ursula grinned as she spoke in her deep, raspy voice.

Regina looked from Ursula, the old and bluish gray creature, to a metal grid. It wasn't the grid that had her widen her eyes in a combination of realization and fear, though. Chains were wrapped around fair skinned, almost pale, wrists and soaked, jean covered ankles. Restrained to the metal grid was a pained Emma Swan.

In the murky water below the grid, something moved and flicked water onto Ursula's tentacles as some of the drying black appendages draped over the lip of the coral ground and into the water pit.

“Thank you, boys,” Ursula said, her voice even lower and hoarse as if she'd been sexually pleasured. “Now, my sweet young girl. What is your name?”

Emma clenched her fists and kept her jaw shut tight. She glared at Ursula with a well-sustained bravado, but Regina could tell it wouldn't last much longer by the way the woman's chest heaved.

“Come now, precious. All I want is your name,” Ursula tried again with a sickly sweet tone as she slithered closer to the metal grid that hung from the ceiling.

Emma still refused to answer.

Ursula dismissively waved a hand before she spoke again, that time with boredom.

“Fine. Flotsam, Jetsam...”

The moving objects in the water suddenly became very clear to Regina.

The eels teasingly swam around the bottom half of the grid for a few seconds before they each coiled around a metal bar and sent sparks flying across the entire grid.

Emma gritted her teeth as the electrical charge made her convulse before she opened her mouth and threw her head back in an even louder scream.

Regina watched as Emma's neck muscles tensed while the shock from the eels ripped the raspy scream from Emma's lungs and vocal chords.

Emma's body twitched and every muscle found purpose in straining against the electrical attack.

“Enough,” Ursula ordered and immediately, the eels let go of the grid and swam a few inches away from it. “Your name.”

Emma's head fell, her chin nearly touching her sternum as she panted. She waited a few moments to catch her breath, but when she couldn't do that she decided to speak anyway.

“Emma.”

“Hmm. Pretty name,” Ursula started. “How old are you, my dear?”

Emma slowly lifted her head, a few wisps of blonde hair in her face as she looked straight at Ursula.

“Almost twenty-nine.”

“Almost? Mm. Well, that's much younger than me so I guess you'll do.”

Ursula's eyes raked over every inch of Emma from her booted feet to her mussed, sopping wet hair.

Regina remained in the shadows, out of Ursula's sight. From the looks of things, Ursula wasn't much different from her mother Cora. If that was anything to go by, Regina knew it would be best to wait for the most opportune time to make her presence known. Not just for her safety, but for Emma's as well.

“Tell me, Emma. What is it you can do for me,” Ursula asked as she dipped half of her body into the water.

Two of her tentacles slid up the metal grid on either side of Emma while another one of them made its slimy ascent between parted legs.

“You see,” Ursula purred. “I used to have the lively little mermaid to play with, but...sadly, she's been gone a long time. I've been trying to find just the right replacement...and then you came in from...wherever it is you're from.”

Ursula reached out and tenderly ran the back of her hand down Emma's cheek as she brought her face less than an inch away from the human's. She slowed the tentacle between Emma's legs before the tip could reach the woman's sex. She left it tantalizingly, temptingly close, but didn't make a move to go any further. Yet.

“Have you heard of me,” Ursula asked, genuinely curious.

Ursula tucked a finger under Emma's chin and kept the blonde's green eyed gaze on herself.

“Yes.”

Ursula grinned.

“Have you heard of the mermaid I lost?”

“Yes.”

“You know what I want from you, don't you.”

It wasn't a question.

“I do.”

“I imagine that if you're here, in Neverland of all places, you must be in search of something. You're too pretty a specimen for you to live here among those dreaded Lost Boys.”

“Maybe I am,” Emma replied, still a steeliness and strength in her voice.

“Then maybe we can make a deal. Give me what I want and I'll help you in whatever way I can.”

“Touch me with those filthy tentacles and I _will_ cut them all off, one by one, old _hag_ ,” Emma warningly spat at the witch.

Ursula chuckled.

The deep, throaty sound of it made Regina's skin crawl. It was much darker in nature than Cora's chuckles, but it had the same purpose. Ursula had all the power and was going to reinforce it faster than the blonde would know what was happening. It had happened to Regina far too many times to count. It was a hard and painful lesson to learn and knowing how willful and headstrong Emma was, Regina knew the blonde would have to learn it more than once.

Ursula used her other hand to caress Emma's untouched cheek, but after a fleeting touch from the pad of her finger, she dug her long, red nails into Emma's soft skin.

Emma winced and tensed all the muscles in her arms. She turned away from Ursula, but the witch wouldn't let her get away that easily.

Ursula used her other hand to cup the blonde's chin, her fingers pressed down on one side of Emma's jaw while her thumb pressed down on the other. She squished up Emma's face and yanked the woman's head back toward her. She held it in place and maliciously stared into green eyes with a lustful gleam in her own dark orbs. She slid her tentacle the rest of the way between Emma's legs and hooked it into the top of soaked jeans. With one good tug, she yanked them far enough to reveal upper thighs and black lace.

Emma's eyes widened in fear seconds before she felt the plump tentacle slip beneath her thin, drenched panties.

The suction cups on Ursula's tentacle occasionally stuck to Emma's folds as the witch pushed the tip of it toward her opening.

Emma clenched her thighs to no avail. She couldn't stop or prevent Ursula's tentacle from sliding somewhere she really didn't want it.

Just as the tip poked at Emma's opening, Ursula yelped and arched her back at the heat she felt on one of her back tentacles.

Ursula turned her attention away from the blonde and clambered off the metal grid as her aggressor tentacle slithered away from Emma's center.

Emma puffed out a sigh of relief as she relaxed. She gulped and tried not to cry as the thought of nearly being violated continued in her mind as though Ursula hadn't gotten off of her.

“You dare try to use magic on _me_ ,” Ursula barked.

Emma's eyes shot open as confusion took over all other thoughts.

Why had Ursula pulled away?

Just as she finished forming the question in her head, she saw a familiar face on the other side of Ursula.

_Regina,_ Emma asked herself as though it were all some mirage.

The brunette created another fireball at her hip, her eyes alight with the deep purple sparks reserved for her more intense magic.

“Big mistake,” Ursula growled at Regina.

The eels coiled themselves around the grid again, without permission from Ursula, and shocked Emma again.

Emma jolted to life as she arched her back and bucked her hips in a poor, failed attempt to get away from the grid.

The eels didn't let up on the strength of their attack and they certainly didn't seem interested in stopping any time soon.

Emma cried out as she felt herself shake beneath the chains that bound her.

Regina backed away from Ursula as the witch slithered toward her. She kept the fireball at her hip with a wild flicker that wouldn't desist. After a moment, when she felt the presence of a wall close behind her, she threw the fireball toward one of Ursula's side tentacles. She kept her eyes on Ursula the entire time and made sure to control the swing of her hand to keep the bodacious witch from anticipating the attack.

It worked until Ursula moved out of the way and the fireball only scorched the tentacle on its way across the room. Fire erupted on the edge of the metal grid and crackled as it quickly swayed and made its way toward the blonde.

_Damn,_ Regina thought as she looked over the voluptuous curve of Ursula's hip to see how much danger she'd put Emma in.

Regina's eyes found Ursula's again as she raised her hand to chest level and made a fist. The fire vanished. She used her other hand to charge up a few purple sparks at her fingertips. She extended her arm and shot out small lightning bolts at Ursula.

Ursula waved her hands protectively in front of herself and reflected the bolts off an invisible shield. A few bolts hit the wall and caused the coral foundation to crack while one bolt zapped Regina straight in the chest.

Regina cringed and keeled over at the waist as she felt her chest tighten under the shock of her own magic.

Ursula chuckled again and reached out with one of her tentacles as she slid across puddle after puddle to get to Regina.

The eels gave Emma a chance to breathe as they unwrapped themselves from the grid and swam a tiny distance away from the metal.

Emma's body went limp as she felt all her strength disappear. She could barely hold herself up enough to see if Regina was okay.

Ursula pinned Regina against the wall with a forceful shove of one of her tentacles. She pressed the suction cups hard against Regina's chest, the curve of the cups just above the brunette's concealed nipples.

Regina felt the air leave her lungs for the second time that day.

Emma weakly wriggled her wrists under the chains, not enough to rattle them. She didn't know how to free herself from them, but she employed Regina's words of wisdom from the only magic lesson she ever had to envision the chains gone.

“Who are you to try and fight me, girl,” Ursula growled at Regina again as she closed the space between their faces.

Her behavior toward Emma had been predatory in a sexual manner while her behavior toward Regina remained predatory in a strictly menacing way.

Regina fought for oxygen as she extended her neck and squirmed beneath Ursula's tentacle.

“The Evil Queen,” Regina slowly rasped out, her voice nothing more than a smoky whisper.

With both her hands still free, she created a fireball with each of them. Her answer bought her a few seconds before she flicked her wrists and directed them at the front half of Ursula's tentacles, under the one tentacle that held her against the wall.

Ursula emitted a roaring yell of pain as the fire burned her in an overly sensitive place. She briefly eased her hold on the brunette to take a moment and reel from the heat.

Emma managed to make the chain around her right wrist and the chain on her right ankle go poof in a small puff of blue smoke. She grunted just as Ursula yelled and pulled on the other two restraints as she slumped toward the water in her weakened state. She pulled herself up with much pain and struggle by her left arm, still bound to the grid. She gritted her teeth and expectantly held out her right hand.

She closed her eyes and envisioned a sword. Within a few seconds, one appeared in her hand under a swirl of blue smoke.

Flotsam and Jetsam noticed the shiny object and immediately coiled around the grid. They shocked Emma yet again.

“F-f-f-uck,” Emma yelled in crescendo before she sobbed a few times.

She opened her eyes as she tried not to think about the pain she felt due to the eels' attack. She pulled the sword back and over her head. Her vision started to blur, but she tried her hardest to focus on Ursula. When the sea hag started to look over her shoulder and spotted Emma, the blonde knew she had to act right then.

Emma aimed and used her freed foot to push away from the grid before she released the sword.

Ursula turned in time to see the sword land in her lower back.

“Oh,” Ursula angrily grumbled as she locked eyes with the blonde.

Ursula immediately pulled the sword out of her back and threw it down to the ground beside herself. Her let hand flung out toward Emma and freed the blonde from the restraints.

Emma quickly tried to grab hold of the electrically charged grid, but her body couldn't withstand the effort. She fell into the water and began to drift below the bottom end of the metal grid.

“Boys,” Ursula called out to her pets.

Flotsam and Jetsam let go of the grid and swam to Emma. They worked together and wrapped themselves around the woman's waist. They dragged her up to the surface and nudged her onto the small bit of dry land at the edge of the water pit.

She didn't cough or gasp for air.

Regina took the time to run toward the sword while Ursula's attention remained on the blonde.

Ursula grinned again. The corners of her mouth almost spread from ear to ear at the sight of the blonde strewn on the ground, the top half of her on land as the bottom half dangled in the water. She turned her attention back to Regina.

“Ah, ah, ah,” Ursula admonished then swept a tentacle across the ground and swatted Regina against the nearest wall.

Regina hit the wall with a thud and winded grunt.

“I've heard of you,” the Sea Witch said with a light, almost airy tone, playful. “You made quite a name for yourself in that other world. I can't for the life of me remember what the name of it is, but what do I care. ...Your reputation, however, seems to greatly proceed you. You're not at all what I expected. It seems your mother taught you nothing after all.”

Ursula pulled Regina away from the wall and wrapped her tentacle around the brunette before she continued.

“I guess it's my turn to pick up where she left off. I guarantee you if you do manage to leave my kingdom, you will be a changed woman. Although, I can't say you'll change as much as I expect _Emma_ to once I'm through with her.”

Ursula brought Regina close enough to her face that the brunette felt the witch's sticky, hot and foul breath on her lips.

“And that is on you,” Ursula said, her voice deep in a cross between a purr and a growl.

*** * ***

Regina gripped tightly to thick metal bars as she stood inside a small jail cell with water up to her calves. She puffed out a frustrated sigh with gritted teeth, her eyes closed as she tried to focus on her confinement.

She clenched and unclenched her fingers around the two cell bars she gripped. Her fingers thrummed against the bars as they one by one tapped against then re-gripped the metal.

A loud but strangled scream sounded through the flooded dungeon.

Emma.

The blonde tried her hardest not to cry or scream or even yell. She wouldn't give Ursula the satisfaction of breaking her.

A thin though painful lash from a quickly and expertly wielded whip sliced through pale skin. A slash mark instantly appeared and blood began to flow across the diagonal expanse of the wound.

Emma gritted her teeth and tensed within her restraints.

Ursula had moved them from the outer room to a more dungeon like interior. The space seemed more intimate with less access to the water. Flotsam and Jetsam didn't seem to be able to disturb them there.

Though she had been complaining about Regina ruining her clothes during their magic lesson, Emma quickly realized Regina could have stripped her and it wouldn't have mattered. Ursula seemed determined to do just that, so why should Regina have cared about her modesty?

“Be a good girl,” Ursula thickly purred. “Scream for me.”

Ursula wound up the whip again. She raised it as high as she could before she brought it down in one rushed but smoothly executed movement.

The whip lashed her straight down Emma's sternum, between her breasts, and stopped a little less than an inch below her navel.

Emma hissed through her still gritted teeth as she arched her back and scrunched up her face.

She hadn't been receiving the pain well. She wasn't even sure how to cope with it. A few claw marks on her back, maybe a few red handprints on her ass, and plenty of sensitive and bruised bite marks, she was used to. No one had taken a whip to her, however.

Emma took a deep breath through her nose, ragged and hitched in nature.

Ursula could clearly see the muscles in Emma's forearm as the girl remained tense. She deviously grinned.

“This could be fun, you know. For _both_ of us.”

“Not. Interested,” Emma growled.

Ursula shrugged.

“Guess it will just be my pleasure then.”

Ursula held the whip out at an angle before she snapped it across Emma's stomach.

The force of the whip cut through the shirt and left most of it tattered. With the help of the previous lashes, the material of Emma's shirt hung in various directions. The word shirt was applied loosely at that point.

Blood dripped down from the gash across her abdomen.

Emma emitted a cross between a yell and a whimper as she tried to hold back the incriminating sound of her pain.

Ursula throatily chuckled as she looked at the blonde.

Emma could barely think straight let alone try to conjure magic. The most she could do was focus on her breathing and she hadn't been successful with that so far.

“Care for something more... _entertaining_?”

Ursula snapped her fingers on her free hand and the whip disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Emma tried not to find similarities between her magic and Regina's. If she made it out of the Ursula's castle alive, she wouldn't want to confuse the two. She still had to work side by side with Regina to save Henry. She doubted she'd be able to achieve that if she flinched every time Regina raised a hand to brush away a stray strand of her own brunette hair. Or worse, if she attacked the former Queen in an attempt to punish Ursula the way she couldn't while detained.

Ursula closed the distance between them as her slimy tentacles slithered across puddle-covered floors. She had a wild gleam in her dark eyes.

Emma knew what came next wouldn't be something she'd want to remember and would probably never be able to forget.

*** * ***

Regina channeled a bolt of strong, thick purple energy at the bars of her cell through her outstretched hands. She held out her palms to face the metal, but even as the energy struck the cell it didn't break through.

Instead, Regina had to dive out of the way with wide eyes as her magic backfired and reflected off the cell. It shot back the same direction it came and nothing Regina could have done to protect herself with magic would have been applied fast enough.

The magic crashed against the wall behind Regina. She looked over her shoulder to inspect the damage, still face down on the ground. She panted a few times before she pushed off the ground and got to her feet. She brushed off her pants and shirt until her hands froze mid-pat when another strangled scream echoed through the dungeon.

Regina closed her eyes and zeroed in on the sound. She didn't know what she was doing until she did it. Emma followed the scream with a coughed out cry. Immediately, Regina's eyes shot open and her eyes flared with a storm of purple. She set her jaw and trained her hollow gaze at the bars of the cell.

Magic coursed through her veins in a way she'd known only a few times prior to her predicament. It was her dark, malicious magic, the kind that blackened her heart with each previous use. It crackled at her fingertips and began to glow within her. She started to shake as her anger consumed her while her twisted emotions surged through her.

Regina threw out her hands toward the bars and screamed in a familiar way, the way she'd screamed when she sent her mother through the looking glass.

She hadn't noticed Flotsam and Jetsam quickly swim up to the bars. She didn't have any time to figure out what had happened before it had.

The eels wrapped their tails around the bars and sparked up the metal just as Regina's magic attempted to burst through the cell. The opposing forces caused Regina's magic to bounce off the cell once again.

Too deep into her emotions, too tapped into her dark magic, Regina couldn't break out of her reverie soon enough to dive out of the way again.

The magic slammed into her and sent her back against the wall. The impact was harsh and knocked the brunette back into reality just before the intensity of her own magic brought her to her knees.

Disoriented, Regina tried to clear her spinning vision. She could hardly tell where she was as darkness threatened to overcome her. She slumped back against the wall and her breathing began to slow.

The last thing she thought she heard before she slipped into the realm of unconsciousness was Emma screaming her name.

*** * ***

“ _Regina_ ,” Emma screamed at the top of her lungs as she felt the witch's long nails drag sharply down her exposed thighs.

“Oh, she can't help you now, girl,” Ursula feigned sympathy. “I saw to that.”

Tears threatened to fall and stain Emma's cheeks. She didn't know if she was actually concerned about Regina or if she hated that she was on her own again.

She didn't have time to analyze, however.

Ursula wrapped two tentacles around Emma's thighs and squeezed. She slid a third tentacle up to Emma's throat and closed it around the blonde's windpipe.

Emma choked as she lost the ability to breathe.

Ursula moved her hand, the one she'd used to claw at Emma's thigh, to the apex of her legs.

The moment Ursula's fingertips pressed and brushed against her sex, Emma felt an anger stir within her. Her need to survive kicked in and suddenly, the room rumbled moments before the ceiling fell onto Ursula.

The coral crumbled under Emma's magic and smashed into the witch.

Ursula let go of Emma and took the brunt of the ceiling mostly on her head and shoulders. It didn't discourage her, though. She took a moment to collect herself before she growled at Emma, malice clear in her eyes.

“How dare you!”

Without warning, Ursula slapped Emma hard across the face. She made a starfish appear in her right hand and harshly placed it on one of Emma's wrists. It began to move as it sucked at Emma's skin. Just after she watched Emma's face twist in discomfort, she made a second starfish appear and placed it on Emma's other wrist.

Ursula reached down between Emma's thighs and roughly pinched her clit.

Emma thrashed underneath Ursula's touch and emitted a visceral scream at the unwanted contact.

Ursula's tentacle, the one she'd touched Emma's center with the first time, slithered up the woman's leg. She darkly grinned as she closed most of the space between them the closer the tip of her tentacle got to the top of Emma's thigh.

Emma squirmed and fidgeted to release herself from Ursula's hold. She struggled against the double bonds of her restraints. The metal cuffs secured around her forearms and the starfishes on her wrists that prevented her from using magic. Each sucking motion from even one of the starfish caused her a pain she wasn't all that familiar with. The only time she'd felt anything even remotely similar was in the mine the day Henry was abducted. When she first went down to find the trigger with Regina.

“ _It feels like the oxygen is being sucked from the air,” Emma had said as she continued toward the force that caused her to feel breathless._

“ _Not the oxygen. ...The magic,” Regina had corrected with a worrisome tone behind her._

Emma glanced at one starfish then the other as she tried to go to her happy place, a place that really didn't exist for her.

Ursula chuckled from deep within her gut. The sound was so sinister and sent shivers down Emma's spine. Not even Regina on her darkest days had sounded so cruel in comparison to the witch before her.

“Lovely things, aren't they,” Ursula rhetorically asked. “Thanks to me, the starfish here are enchanted. They're much like parasites. They absorb and prevent magic when attached to the right part of the anatomy.”

Emma didn't like the way that sounded.

“And what happens if they're attached elsewhere,” Emma asked with a controlled, raspy voice.

Ursula tilted her head to one side as she drank in Emma's features, her green eyes, her overly blonde hair, her fair skin made to look more pale by the surrounding water and the loss of blood through torture.

Ursula ran the back of her hand down Emma's cheek. Her knuckles grazed every inch of the human's face from temple to jawline.

Emma jerked her head to the side and looked away. She pulled her face away from Ursula's touch, but only stood to elicit a throaty, confident laugh from the witch.

Ursula conjured another starfish in the hand that had once caressed Emma's cheek then released the woman's bundle of nerves with the other. She brought her newly freed hand to Emma's shirt and ripped the fabric to uncover a black bra. She slid the strap down the blonde's arm then yanked the cup of the bra down until Emma's left breast was completely exposed. The other remained concealed by the bra, but the way the undergarment hung unevenly on the younger woman's body it wouldn't conceal it much longer if she continued to struggle.

Ursula delicately placed the starfish on Emma's exposed breast and placed her right hand between Emma's thighs once again. She scraped her long fingernail over Emma's sensitive clit before she pinched it again, that time with less force.

The starfish began to move against Emma's skin and within seconds, she realized she shouldn't have asked the question. The movement caused friction against her nipple and felt eerily similar to the tightening of clamps.

“You're sick,” Emma spat out as she tried not to scream again.

Ursula leaned in and brought her mouth less than an inch away from Emma's. Their lips brushed against one another as she spoke while her breath heated Emma's mouth with every word spoken.

“You have no idea. Although, when I'm through with you...you may have _some_ idea.”

Ursula clawed at Emma's hip and sunk her long nails into pale skin. Angry red cuts appeared and marred previously unmarked skin with crimson.

Emma cringed and curled her body inward to move away from Ursula's cruel touch. She fought against the metal cuffs that kept her bound and sliced into her forearms.

Ursula dragged a finger up the open wound she had made on Emma's hip. She collected the blood on her finger and lifted it to her mouth. She languidly licked up the warm liquid and impishly grinned at the blonde.

“Exquisite,” Ursula complimented.

Emma groaned and squirmed, the starfish on her nipple an unrelenting specimen. On top of that, she felt her blood roll down her body from Ursula's previous work.

Ursula slithered closer and slowly wrapped a tentacle around Emma's thigh. She squeezed toned muscle until the woman's face constricted with anguish.

“You take pain quite well,” Ursula noted.

Emma didn't respond. She just tried to breathe. She may have been able to handle pain better than the average person, but not without a good breathing technique.

When Ursula lunged forward and clamped her teeth around the skin just below Emma's collarbone, breathing was out of the question.

Emma thrashed around again in Ursula's rough grasp. She yelped guttural sounds of displeasure that only grew louder when Ursula pinched her clit again through her underwear.

Ursula bit down harder for a second more before she flicked the tip of her tongue over the bite mark she'd made. She licked up Emma's blood again and hummed her approval of the taste.

Emma started to shiver as a tear uncontrollably tumbled down her cheek.

Ursula uncoiled her tentacle from Emma's thigh and pulled back to witness her affect on the woman. She lasciviously grinned when she saw a glimmering tear on a reddish pale cheek.

“I've waited years to find someone as magnificent as Ariel. Looks like I'm done waiting,” Ursula purred.

*** * ***

Regina gradually came back to consciousness as she heard something move through the water. She groaned as she started to wake, her body heavy as she felt herself unable to even lift an arm. Her magic packed a harsh punch. She wasn't sure when she'd be able to recover from the cruel backfire.

Just as Regina's vision adjusted, she saw Ursula magically unlock the cell, a body slung over her shoulder.

Ursula slithered into the cell and smirked as she eased the body off her shoulder and down the front of her body.

“Next time,” Ursula slowly said as she dropped the body in front of the brunette with a splash.

_Emma,_ Regina realized as she followed the body with her eyes to see just who it was that had come to join her _._

“You'll watch.”

Regina looked from Emma to Ursula with a horrified expression.

Ursula swiftly turned and locked the two woman inside the cell. She slithered away and didn't look back.

Regina watched her go then redirected her attention to Emma. The younger woman had been nearly stripped, her clothes were tattered, nearly ripped to shreds. Ursula hadn't even bothered to cover up Emma's exposed breast or her lower body as the jeans the blonde once wore seemed almost non-existent in their condition.

Emma stared in Regina's general direction as she tried to sit up and only once, for a fleeting second, made eye contact with the brunette.

“What did she do to you,” Regina quietly asked, a part of her afraid to know the answer.

“Nothing I couldn't handle,” Emma replied, her voice tired and raspy.

Regina looked Emma over from head to toe. Emma still seemed defiant and strong, but something about her physical appearance made it hard for Regina to think the younger woman hadn't changed. She sighed as an emotion close to guilt washed over her accompanied by empathy as she reached out to Emma.

The second Regina's fingers touched wet blonde hair, Emma jerked away and flew out a protective arm to keep the other woman at a distance.

The younger woman jumped back, regardless of the pain it caused across her injured body, and focused her gaze on the brunette.

“Don't touch me,” Emma growled at her.

Emma cringed as she crawled over to the far wall on one side of the cell. She hissed as she stretched open wounds.

Regina sadly stared at her. Emma appeared angry and more like Regina's lost, younger self. Emma's expression was strangely familiar to her own the day she'd gone horseback riding and suffered abuse at the hands of Cora with dark magic to teach her a lesson that her father had passively allowed.

Regina didn't know what to say. She knew there really wasn't anything to say. There would be nothing that could make what happened to Emma better, nothing that could fix it. There was not an undo button in life. Even with magic, Regina couldn't turn back time. If she could, she would have done it a long time ago instead of casting the curse.

The two of them sat in silence for a long time. The absence of speech, or any sounds other than those associated with the water, made Regina's voice a disruptive force that caused both women to jump a little when she spoke.

“I might be able to heal you,” Regina said.

Emma remained off in the corner, curled up with her knees to her chest. She looked so small.

“I...had a little mishap with my magic before you got here,” Regina cautiously continued. “But I'm willing to try.”

Emma wrapped her arms around her ankles and linked them at her sore wrists. She leaned forward to rest her chin on her knees and winced as she aggravated the whip marks on her sternum and stomach.

Regina didn't move. She kept the same distance between them that the blonde had made when she moved over to the other wall.

“May I take a look,” Regina asked as she focused all her attention on Emma. She refused to look anywhere else. She couldn't look anywhere else.

It wasn't the first time that had happened.

After a minute, Emma looked up and locked eyes with Regina.

“No” she answered, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Why not?”

Emma didn't respond that time.

Regina waited in silence for a while before she spoke again as she started to form conclusions.

“Do you blame me for whatever happened to you up there? With her?”

“No,” Emma quietly replied.

“Then why not let me heal you?”

“I just don't want you to, okay? Will you drop it already?”

“I will not,” Regina persisted. “If you're not going to talk about what happened then at least let me heal you.”

“I'm fine. Not a scratch on me,” she lied.

“I know you're hurt. There's blood everywhere,” Regina deadpanned. “Not to mention, Ursula threw you down right in front of me. Looks like you've got some ugly cuts on your chest. I can't be sure of the extent of the damage, but you're not fine.”

“Let's just focus on how to get out of here. I'm not the kind of person who can just sit around and wait to be kicked around again. If I was, maybe we wouldn't be here.”

Regina paused and let Emma's words sink in.

“I probably wouldn't have come back to Storybrooke with Henry when he found me. Hell, it would've probably been a lot harder for him to find me. That is, if I wasn't already six feet under ground by then.”

Regina took a deep breath then started again with a new tactic.

“Fine. I respect your decision to refuse my healing, but will you at least let me try to fix your clothes? They're the only ones you have, right? And it's cold here. You must be freezing.”

Emma pouted as she shifted in place to bundle herself up more. She hated it when Regina was right and she hated it even more when she herself proved it. It was admitting defeat and she didn't want to be defeated in front of or because of Regina.

Regina kept a neutral expression even as she watched Emma readjust. The younger woman's body language suggested she had been right. Emma was cold. Though she was known to push the blonde, she knew it wouldn't help given their situation.

“Okay,” Emma reluctantly agreed after a moment, though she didn't move an inch.

“I need to see all your clothes,” Regina said. “Shirt included.”

Emma looked down at herself. Her face showed signs of internal debate as she realized her shirt no longer covered one of her breasts. She reached down and tried to slide the shredded material over her breast, her bra useless – torn up and left in the place Ursula tortured her.

The flimsy shirt fell right off her breast the second she let it go. She closed her eyes for a moment as she fought off a grunt or two of disapproval. She opened them again, her attention still trained on her lap, before she slowly looked up at Regina. She locked her eyes on the other woman's for a moment before she gradually lowered her knees and looked away from the brunette. Before either of them knew it, she sat half naked in front of Regina.

Regina kept her eyes on Emma's face and neck at first, but the small bit of light in the dungeon reflected off the water in the cell and attracted attention to the rest of the blonde's light skin. Her eyes wandered down to the bite on Emma's collarbone. She stopped to inspect the damage there, though Emma had insisted she not heal her.

The bite mark had no affect on Regina. She kept emotion out of her features and reminded herself that she'd seen worse before she saw the whip marks. After that, her gaze flickered down, without much thought, to Emma's exposed breast.

She gasped when she saw a red mark in the shape of starfish along with an irritated, dark pink nipple.

At the sound of Regina's gasp, Emma whipped her head forward and noticed Regina's eyes on her breast. Even though she'd once opened a door in only a tank top and red panties to Regina, she didn't need the other woman to see her in such a state. Battered and bare in places. She self-consciously shielded herself from Regina with her arms.

Her vision obstructed, Regina found Emma's eyes.

“I'm sorry,” Regina genuinely apologized.

“Yeah, so am I,” Emma quickly, bitterly said. “Forget the clothes. Let's get the hell out of here.”

Regina frowned.

“Please,” Regina begged. “I want to help.”

“You can't,” Emma harshly said as rage started to swim in her green eyes. “Not unless you know a way out of here.”

Regina shook her head, a look of shame on her face as she continued to frown.

“I tried to use magic to get out of here. It backfired and knocked me out. The last thing I remember before you got here was...”

Regina trailed off as the pained cry of her name that came out of Emma's mouth echoed in her head.

“Was...?”

Emma expectantly leaned forward.

“What, Regina? Was what?”

Regina shook her head and gulped as she pulled herself out of her thoughts.

“It's not important.”

Emma rolled her eyes and leaned back. Before she could stop herself, she pressed her open wounds against the coral and audibly cringed.

Regina looked at Emma again, concern usually reserved for Henry clear across her face.

“Are you okay?”

Emma, her face still scrunched up in discomfort, met Regina's gaze and snapped.

“I was whipped, I had a stupid starfish going at my breast like it was feeding, Ursula's gross ass fingers pinched me somewhere I'd like to forget, and my hip has been clawed at like a cat sharpening its nails. Tell me, if you were in my place, would you be okay?”

“I offered to heal you and you turned me down,” Regina snapped back.

“And I really didn't want to talk about what happened, but I guess you always get what you want, right?”

“You know what, I don't need your consent for this,” Regina said as she got on all fours and crawled through the water toward Emma.

Emma suspiciously eyed the brunette as Regina approached at a rapid pace. She leaned away from the woman, but Regina only followed her the small distance she moved.

“What are you doing,” Emma loudly asked with a twinge of fear when Regina's face was only inches away.

“What I should have done when Ursula left you with me,” Regina said as she reached out and pulled Emma's arms away from her chest.

“Regina!”

Regina held Emma's wrists in the other woman's lap and looked over what parts of the blonde's front she could see. She willed her magic to flow from her heart to her hands and sent it through Emma.

Emma felt lightheaded as the buzz of Regina's magic coursed through her. She looked down as her bite mark sealed itself and the skin on her hip stitched back together. The whip marks on her sternum and stomach cleared up as well.

Regina ran one hand up Emma's arm from her place around Emma's wrist to the woman's bicep. Magic traveled between her hand and Emma's skin as she moved.

Within seconds, Emma felt a tingling sensation in her uncovered breast. She gasped and looked down to see the mark of the starfish fade. Unable to stop herself, she quietly moaned at what happened next.

Regina stared down at Emma's swollen nipple and slid her hand from Emma's bicep to hover over her breast.

Emma closed her eyes and felt Regina's magic spark from the other woman's hand to her nipple. She tipped her head back and rested it against the coral behind her. She no longer resisted Regina's hand on her wrists and let the healing happen.

Regina looked up at Emma when she felt the younger woman relax under her hold.

“Holy crap,” Emma breathed out no louder than a whisper, her eyes still closed.

Regina took her hand back and let go of Emma's wrists when she restored Emma's breast to its usual, unharmed state.

Emma immediately felt the loss as the magic cooled down inside her. She opened her eyes and looked at Regina in a mild haze as she pulled her head away from the coral.

“Do you need me to heal your back as well,” Regina asked without an edge in her voice.

Emma failed to speak as she looked from Regina to her mostly healed body. She gulped and slowly turned away from Regina.

Regina carefully pulled up Emma's shirt. She immediately noticed the length and brutality of the whip marks she saw.

“I'm sorry,” Regina quietly said.

Emma furrowed her brow as she pulled her hair over one of her shoulders.

“Why?”

Regina shook her head even though she knew Emma couldn't see it.

“Forget it,” Regina quickly said.

Regina frowned as she assessed the whip marks. They were deep and bloody. The longer they stayed half submerged in sea water, the more Emma risked infection.

She lightly ran a fingertip the length of a mark against unaffected skin on Emma's back.

Emma hissed and tensed under Regina's touch.

Regina pulled her hand back, but kept it close to Emma's back as she waited for the woman to settle.

Emma curled up again, knees to chest. She rested her chin on her knees again and twisted up her face due to the pain it caused her to pull at sensitive and sliced open skin.

Regina moved her hand closer to Emma's back once more but didn't touch her. Her hand glowed a faint purple and she slowly moved it down Emma's back, never touching the cut skin. Her hand continued to hover as she closed the wounds.

When all the whip marks were healed, Emma took a deep breath and the smallest of smiles tugged at the corners of her mouth.

Regina released Emma's shirt and it naturally flowed down over the woman's back. It covered everything but the small of Emma's back as it bunched up there given the blonde's sitting position.

After a moment, Emma turned back to Regina, her smile gone, and spoke.

“Thanks.”

Regina nodded.

“You're welcome.”

Emma looked down again and realized her clothes still hadn't been fixed. She picked up part of her shirt and held it over her bare breast.

“Looks like you've still got your magic,” Emma noted before she looked up again and met Regina's gaze.

“I guess so,” Regina replied. “Although, I still don't know how to get us out of here.”

“Right. Well, I know I was the one that wanted us to get out of here before anything else happened, but here's the thing...I kind of like clothes.”

Regina couldn't suppress the smile that spread across her face.

“Really? Given some of your more questionable outfits I thought otherwise.”

Emma rolled her eyes.

“I'm pretty sure my wardrobe lately has consisted of less tank tops and more turtlenecks.”

“Yes, what an unfortunate choice. You look more like your mother now. A shame, really.”

Emma tilted her head to the side with a curious expression on her face.

Regina noticed and suddenly realized what she'd said.

“I only said that because no one needs to look like Mary Margaret,” Regina quickly clarified.

“You think _that's_ what I look like,” Emma asked with worry, her voice a few pitches higher.

Regina chuckled.

“Haven't you noticed, dear?”

Emma frowned and inspected her torn clothes again.

“Not to worry,” Regina said as Emma kept her eyes cast down on her clothes.

Regina waved her hand with a small flourish and purple smoke surrounded Emma.

When the smoke cleared, Emma took in her new outfit. Regina had dressed her in dark jeans and a wool-knit, dark green shirt that matched her eyes with long sleeves and a V-cut neckline.

“Much better,” Regina grinned.

“Uh, thanks,” Emma said as she looked up at Regina.

“Now, we need to get out of here,” Regina started. “The sooner we do, the easier it'll be to find and get back to the ship.”

“What do you mean 'find'?”

“Well, you didn't think your parents were going to anchor the ship and wait for us, did you? They were still under attack when I came after you. And I told them to find Henry no matter what happened to you.”

Emma opened her mouth to argue, but she closed it just as quickly.

“You know you would've done the same thing had our roles been reversed,” Regina said in response to Emma's action.

“Yeah,” Emma admitted. “You're right. ...So, how did you try to get out of here?”

“I tried to blast open the cell with my magic. I just threw magical energy at it, but the bars seemed to deflect it like some kind of shield.”

Emma furrowed her brow. The phrase Regina had used struck a memory within her.

“Almost like a protection spell?”

“Protection spells are supposed to keep people out, not trap them inside.”

“Okay, but keeping us from getting out there,” Emma pointed to the hallway past the cell bars. “Would be like protecting that area from us, right?”

Regina shook her head.

“Not really.”

Emma groaned.

“Well, the only thing I know to do is cast a protection spell.”

“And not very well,” Regina added.

“Excuse me,” Emma asked, slightly offended.

Regina locked eyes with Emma.

“It didn't keep my mother and I away for very long, did it?”

“That might have something to do with the fact that I don't practice magic and you plus your mom equals bad.”

“Ursula is just as strong as my mother. I imagine her spells are hard to weaken.”

“What, your mom's spells?”

“No, Ursula's. Pay attention.”

Emma rolled her eyes again.

“Sorry. Maybe you should be more specific.”

Regina sighed.

“Look, maybe...you could try again,” Emma asked.

“And possibly kill myself in the process? I don't think so.”

“I just-” Emma cut herself off to huff. “If you try again, maybe you can see how we're being kept in here. If it's some kind of barrier, you'd be able to come up with a way to...undo it or something?”

“I suppose you're right. But I don't need to throw my magic at it to figure that out.”

“Okay, then do whatever it is you _do_ need to do to figure that out,” Emma waved at the bars.

“Next time something awful happens to you, remind to go back on my word and _not_ save you.”

“I will if you get us out of here.”

Regina walked toward the bars and held out her hand. She tried to feel the magic and caused the space in front of her hand to glow orange. The magic she revealed magically shocked her. She winced, but kept her hand in place as she moved it left and right to get a better understanding of what she saw.

The magic shocked her again. That time it caused her to curl her fingers as she resisted the urge to ball up a fist. When the magic shocked her a third time, she didn't resist the previous urge and groaned as she pulled her hand away.

The orange wall of magic faded and Regina stepped away from the bars.

“A barrier,” Regina said.

“Okay. Can you get us out?”

“I can't.”

Emma hunched forward, deflated.

“But _we_ can,” Regina said.

Emma snapped her eyes back up to lock onto Regina's.

“How?”

“It isn't like a protection spell, but what I need you to do something similar to casting one.”

“Of course because it was a piece of cake the first time,” Emma sarcastically said.

“When it's just me using magic to get us out of trouble, you're all for it. But any time I need you're help and it's not _your_ idea, you give up. We don't have a lot of time, Miss Swan. Henry needs us, remember? And if that's no longer enough to motivate you, Ursula will surely come back here and do much worse to you.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I get it,” Emma quickly said as she stepped over Regina's words. “I'll help. What exactly is it that you need me to do?”

“You need to recreate Ursula's spell.”

“Okay, this is why I give up whenever I need to use magic to help us. I can't do that. I have no idea what kind of spell she used. I'm not you.”

“Well, you need to start acting like it or we'll never get Henry back.”

“Can't you just be the Evil Queen and do it all yourself?”

“Magic doesn't work like that and neither do I.”

Emma growled.

“Then we're screwed,” Emma threw up her hands in defeat and dropped them down to her sides with a slap to her legs.

Regina pinched the bridge of her nose.

“You're unbearable,” Regina grumbled.

“How is it that a powerful sorceress like the Evil Queen can't magic us out of this mess,” Emma asked.

Regina advanced on Emma and aggressively took one of the younger woman's hands in hers. She released a heavy sigh and focused on the bars.

“What are you-”

“Shut up,” Regina ordered before Emma could finish her question.

Emma felt a jab in her hand before she felt a familiar pull. Regina had started to siphon her magic from her.

Regina absorbed as much of Emma's magic as she could and did what Emma refused to do. She recreated the spell Ursula had cast and an orange wall appeared in front of the bars again. Her eyes started to glow purple as she powered up her own magic and threw a fireball at the orange colored barrier within the seconds it took to conjure it.

The barrier zapped like an electrical fence when the fireball connected with it.

Regina followed up with electricity of her own. She sent long sparks of purple at the barrier and knew by what she saw next that she'd found the right way to go about their escape.

The barrier sizzled as hot white sparks flickered over and over again when met with Regina's magic.

Emma felt herself being drained and gritted her teeth before she yanked her hand out of Regina's.

Regina seemed to forget about her as her eyes continued to glow and she raised her other hand to send more long, purple sparks at the barrier.

Emma fell back against the coral wall behind her and panted as she watched Regina with wide eyes.

The orange started to flash like strobe lights and white and purple sparks jolted against each other.

Regina gritted her teeth and replayed every tragic or painful event of her life. Images of her mother's abuse, the loss of Daniel, her first night trapped under King Leopold's crushing weight to consummate their marriage, Rumpelstiltskin's cutting words said as a part of lessons Regina never wanted to learn, every moment Regina had like her mother though she never wanted that to happen, and Henry choosing Emma over her.

A growl escalated with a crescendo in the back of her throat before she screamed.

The orange barrier exploded and Regina's magic fizzled out.

Emma shielded herself from the explosion and the ground rumbled beneath their feet.

Regina shook from overexertion as the purple faded from her eyes. She dropped to her knees in the water and leaned forward on her hands.

Emma turned back to smoking bars, a hole blasted through them in a somewhat circular pattern. Only the edges of the cell door remained.

“You did it,” Emma said with a smile.

Emma headed toward the opening in the bars before she looked over her shoulder at Regina.

“Regina?”

Emma saw Regina's body shake as she breathed heavily and rested on all fours, her head bowed and brunette hair in her face.

“Regina,” Emma asked again as she closed the space between her and the other woman.

Emma placed a hand on Regina's back and tried to make eye contact with her.

Regina's head stayed down.

“Hey,” Emma tried again. “You okay?”

“When I...ask you to help...don't...question me. Just...do as...I say,” Regina groggily said between breaths.

Regina finally lifted her head and looked over at Emma.

“You got it,” Emma agreed.

A splashing sound in the water redirected Emma's attention from Regina to two dark objects on their way toward them.

“Come on,” Emma started. “Time to go.”

Emma reached down and grabbed Regina's hand. She pulled the other woman to her feet and dragged her toward the opening in the cell.

Emma kept Regina's hand in hers as she stepped through the destroyed bars then turned to completely face Regina. She extended her other hand and held it out to Regina.

Regina took it and used Emma as her crutch as she lifted one leg at a time and freed herself from the cell. Too tired to stand on her own, she stumbled into Emma.

Emma awkwardly caught her and shuffled back a few steps. When she regained her balance, she let go of one of Regina's hands and spun back around to face forward. She squeezed Regina's other hand as she started to jog down the hallway.

Flotsam and Jetsam slithered toward her and tried to wrap themselves around both Emma's and Regina's ankles.

Emma tried to stomp on the one that circled around her while Regina stood defenseless against the one that suddenly shocked the woman.

Emma felt the shock through their joined hands just as Regina fell toward her.

“Transport us,” Regina breathed against Emma's shoulder.

“I don't know how,” Emma said as she looked back at Regina.

The other eel coiled around her ankle and Emma tried to shake it loose as she flailed her leg around then stomped a few times.

Both eels simultaneously shocked the two women.

Emma felt not only the shock from the eel around her ankle, but the one around Regina's as well. The same went for Regina.

Both women groaned and squeezed each other's hand tighter as they both winced in pain.

When the shock faded, Regina spoke again.

“Just think about a place then will yourself there,” Regina tiredly said.

Emma nervously looked back at Regina. She saw brown eyes struggle to stay open. Regina had never looked so worn out to her.

She closed her eyes and tried to focus.

Two eel shocks later and nothing had happened.

“I can't do it,” Emma said again. “I'm sorry.”

“What do we have here,” a hoarse voice asked with delight.

Emma whipped her head around to see Ursula slither toward them.

“Trying to escape, are we? That simply won't do.”

Regina strained to keep her eyes open the instant she heard that voice. As she continued to lean on Emma, she felt the younger woman stiffen at Ursula's presence.

Emma stood more protectively in front of Regina as she shielded the brunette from Ursula and gulped. She knew Ursula wanted more to do with herself than with Regina, but something inside her still told her to protect the weakened woman behind her.

“And you're protecting _her,_ ” Ursula motioned to Regina. “How precious. But I have no interest in her, no _real_ interest anyway.”

Regina straightened up behind Emma and tried to find whatever strength she had left in her. She rested a hand on Emma's hip to stabilize herself, Emma's right arm tucked between them as Regina's left hand laid in Emma's right.

Emma felt Regina's right hand on her hip. Though Regina had stood up on her own, the woman hadn't moved her hand.

Ursula's eyes looked down and noticed the same thing. She arched an eyebrow before she locked eyes with Emma again.

“It seems as though my interests have changed,” Ursula said before she snapped her fingers and the three of them appeared in a dining area.

Emma frantically looked around and took in as much of her surroundings as possible before Ursula reached out and pulled her away from Regina.

Ursula threw Emma onto the table and held her down by choking her then magically directed Regina into a seat at the table to keep her close to the action.

“I highly doubt the two of you will be leaving anytime soon.”

 

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This chapter has rape/non-con elements. After this chapter, the dark visuals of that subject matter are done. There will be an upcoming chapter that mentions rape, but doesn't get too far into detail.

Emma kicked at Ursula as she struggled to breathe under the witch's tight grip. She thrashed around a few times, but it only made Ursula coil her fingers even harder around her throat. She growled and yanked at Ursula's slimy hand in an attempt to get the Sea Witch to let go. All efforts were fruitless.

Ursula looked from Emma to Regina.

Regina weakly wriggled beneath her magical bonds in the chair. When Ursula's eyes met hers, she narrowed her gaze.

“You know who I am. You know what I could do to you,” Regina threatened in a low tone.

“Oh, my dear, you could never defeat me. You're nothing without your magic,” Ursula teased in a sickly sweet voice. “And right now I assume you're fairly _powerless_.”

Emma kicked again and her foot connected with Ursula's stomach, just beneath her heavy breasts.

Ursula's attention turned from Regina back to Emma. A fire burned in her eyes, much like one Emma had seen in Regina's eyes on occasion.

“Easy now, girl. It's only going to make things worse for you.”

With a flick her wrist, Emma's arms and legs stretched out on the table. In one fluid movement, her wrists and ankles were bound to the table.

Ursula released her hold on Emma's throat and took a step back.

Emma gasped to take in as much air as she could then coughed when it became too much for her lungs.

“I should just kill you where you stand,” Ursula snarled as she approached Regina.

Ursula reached out and ran a hand down one of the former Queen's cheeks. She lightly scraped a single long fingernail down Regina's cheek to her jawline. She left a red mark, but didn't draw blood.

Regina turned her head to move away from the touch.

Ursula allowed it before she slowly brought her hand back down to her side. She gave a low chuckle as she intensely stared at the brunette.

“I see you've clothed her. Have you healed her too?”

Regina didn't respond. She matched Ursula's gaze and refused to blink as they glared at each other. She wouldn't lose the staring contest they had easily fallen into.

Ursula backed away from Regina and redirected her attention at Emma again.

“Come now. Let's see what the Evil Queen has done to help you.”

Ursula lifted herself onto the table and slithered over Emma's shins. She stopped at Emma's knees and straddled the blonde.

Emma scrunched up her face in disgust and pulled at the magical bonds around her wrists.

“Get off me,” Emma barked.

Ursula shook her head and darkly laughed as she leaned in and grabbed the hem of Emma's green shirt.

“I'll do no such thing,” Ursula replied before she pushed up Emma's shirt.

Emma squirmed in an attempt to throw Ursula off balance and free herself from the Sea Witch.

Regina leaned back against the chair when Ursula focused on Emma, though she also trained her eyes on the blonde. She watched as Ursula pushed Emma's shirt – the shirt she'd conjured for the blonde – up to her shoulders.

Emma growled and rolled back and forth on the table in another attempt to free herself. Yet another fruitless effort.

Ursula laughed again.

“You are one twisted bitch,” Emma angrily said through gritted teeth as she continued to struggle.

“Why thank you, dear. I try,” Ursula quipped.

Regina pushed against her magical restraints. She scrunched up her face in obvious pain as the restraints seared her in punishment for her resistance. Skillfully self-trained, she made no sound.

Ursula hooked a single finger into the front of Emma's bra between the cups. With a firm, quick yank, Ursula ripped the bra from the blonde.

Regina stopped fighting the restraints and relaxed her expression when Ursula removed the younger woman's bra. She didn't stare at Emma's bare breasts, but she did observe the half-naked blonde. It wasn't with lust filled eyes, though Emma did have plenty to be proud of, but with a bit of concern.

Ursula gazed upon Emma's pale flesh. She mischievously grinned with a certain cruelty in her dark eyes.

“Such a beautiful specimen you are,” Ursula complimented with a purr.

Her eyes looked to Emma's right breast and frowned.

“Though I preferred you marked,” Ursula added before she surged forward and bit Emma's previously abused nipple.

Emma tensed and yelled out in agony. She squeezed her eyes shut and fought against burning bonds at her wrists and ankles. She turned her head to the side, her face contorted to display her displeasure, and opened her eyes. The second they popped open, she felt a shock at her nipple and jerked a little at the strange sensation.

Ursula hurriedly pulled away from Emma and glared at Regina, seething.

“You shocked me!”

Emma stared at Regina as Ursula slid off her and slithered over to the brunette. She looked disbelievingly at the former Queen upon hearing Ursula's claim about the cause for the shock she too had felt.

Regina kept her eyes zeroed in on Ursula. She appeared defiant, ever the confident Queen, though she'd lost that title decades ago.

“What a fool,” Ursula growled before she aggressively slapped Regina across the face.

Regina made the softest of sounds close to that of a grunt when Ursula's hand connected with her cheek, but nothing more. She took the hit almost obediently as her head was forced to one side. She barely gave herself a moment to collect herself – though to Emma she already seemed collected – before she turned to look at Ursula again. She grinned and chuckled under her breath.

“You dare laugh? In your position,” Ursula asked, somewhat offended if her tone was anything to go by.

“You think I'm so powerless. So _weak_ ,” Regina slowly said. “Yet you've heard of my mother, have you not?”

Emma furrowed her brow as she watched the exchange between Sea Queen and Evil Queen.

“I have,” Ursula cautiously replied.

“Then you should know my mother didn't tolerate insolence nor weakness. Despite your beliefs, my mother taught me well.”

“I'm not sure she feels the same,” Ursula said before she flicked her wrist and wrapped more magical restraints around Regina.

The bonds secured Regina's shoulders, chest, and waist to the chair. They tightly held her there and squeezed tighter at Ursula's silent command.

Emma watched the restraints attempt to squeeze the life out of Regina. She took the opportunity to fight her own restraints while Ursula's attention was elsewhere.

Regina felt the restraints crush her lungs, but she refused to let it show how much it hurt. She'd felt the same type of pressure several times before at Cora's hand. She usually submitted to her mother, but she wouldn't submit to Ursula.

“I can tell because you and I share the same weakness,” Ursula said. “Although, the object of _my_ weakness is long since gone.”

Ursula conjured a whip and eased up only slightly on Regina's restraints. She turned back to Emma and tsked the blonde when she saw the human struggle against her bonds.

Emma stilled her movements and acknowledged Ursula.

Regina kept her mask of indifference in place, but her eyes wandered to Emma.

“You're even feistier than Ariel. My dear, sweet, naïve, Ariel. I wouldn't have hurt her as much if she'd only loved me back,” Ursula admitted.

Ursula raised the whip and brought it down with brute force.

Blood flowed freely from the long lash that extended from the valley between Emma's breasts to her hip.

Emma hissed in pain as she arched her back high off the table.

Regina remained stoic.

Ursula devilishly grinned and licked her lips, her focus still solely on Emma.

“It could be deeper. If it were, there would be much more of your sweet blood. I've never tasted anything as divine.”

Ursula didn't get on the table that time as she leaned over Emma's body and effortlessly dug a single long fingernail into the lash on Emma's skin.

Emma groaned as she resisted the urge to scream while Ursula ran her fingernail down the length of the lash mark.

When Ursula reached the end of the cut, she slipped a second fingernail inside it. She ran both nails up the length of the wound and further tore it open.

The most inhuman and guttural screech ripped itself from Emma's vocal chords.

Regina lost control of her mask and cringed.

Suddenly, a burst of white light surged from Emma's chest and threw Ursula back several feet like she'd done to Cora at Lake Nostos.

Emma's magical outburst gave her a few moments of reprieve. She sniffled and relaxed her body as blood continued to trickle over her pale skin. A few tears rolled down her face as she turned to Regina and opened her eyes. She stared straight into brown eyes through her watery green orbs.

Regina looked as stunned as Emma had when she'd blasted Cora the first time.

Emma lashed a lopsided, tired smile at Regina just as Ursula righted herself and slithered back toward the table.

“It appears you have quite the power yourself,” Ursula bitterly said as she approached. “Someone needs to learn their place.”

Ursula waved an arm and made Emma's bonds disappear with a spark. In an instant, Ursula flipped Emma onto her stomach and had her restrained against the table once more.

Emma grunted when her open wound pressed into the wooden table. When her face connected with the table's surface, she immediately fought the magical bonds.

Ursula wickedly chuckled and slithered toward Regina.

“In fact,” Ursula continued. “ _Both_ of you need to know your place.”

Ursula made Regina's restraints disappear and magically forced the woman onto her feet. She grabbed Regina's shirt front and pulled her over to the table. She threw Regina against the edge of the wood and pressed the brunette's hips into it. She made new restraints around Regina's wrists and bound her to the table, her hands at Emma's side.

Ursula jabbed the backs of Regina's knees with a hard swipe of one of her tentacles. She forced the former Queen onto her knees and bound her ankles to the wet ground.

“Every time she fights me,” Ursula started. “You will be whipped.”

Regina's eyes found Emma's and the two of them stared in silence for a moment. She knew Emma would fight. The resilient woman had been fighting her since the day Emma came to Storybrooke.

Regina clenched her fists as Ursula moved to one end of the table.

Ursula twirled a pointed finger and made Emma's jeans disappear. She lifted herself onto the table again and grinned at Regina.

Emma's eyes bulged and panic set in. She squirmed and thrashed around as she tugged at her restraints.

“Get the hell away from me, you hag,” Emma loudly spat.

With a snap of Ursula's fingers, a long gash appeared across Regina's back as if by an invisible whip.

Regina tensed and looked from Ursula to Emma. She noticed Emma's frantic movements as the blonde's breathing became shallow and labored.

The whip mark had sliced through Regina's shirt and easily drew blood. As Regina looked at Emma fight, even as Ursula had yet to do anything to her, she knew it wouldn't be her last lash received.

Ursula slithered between Emma's spread legs and leaned forward. She clawed at Emma's exposed ass as she slid a tentacle toward the young woman's sex.

Emma bucked her hips to shift her body away from the Sea Witch. She growled and squeezed her eyes shut.

Ursula snapped her fingers.

Regina felt more skin on her back split open. Warm liquid spilled from the new lash mark. She clenched her jaw and held a heated gaze, though she stared at nothing in particular. She was concentrated and stuck inside the confines of her own mind.

“Get off me,” Emma yelled.

Emma jerked away from Ursula and pulled at her restraints with even more conviction.

Another lash on Regina's back.

Regina went deeper into her own mind.

Emma gritted her teeth and thought of a flickering flame.

The tip of Ursula's tentacle teasingly flicked up and down Emma's folds.

Emma squeezed her eyes shut and imagined the flame turn into a raging fire. She thrashed around from side to side and lurched forward.

Two more lashes on Regina's back. The brunette's shirt had been ripped to shreds where the invisible whip had struck her.

Purple swirled in her eyes and she finally tuned her head to look at one of the them. Regina locked her gaze on Emma.

“No,” Emma screamed as she clenched her fists.

A lash appeared on Regina's forearm.

Regina hissed.

Emma focused on the crackling of the fire in her mind.

“You foolish girl,” Ursula sneered at Regina as she provided the brunette with another painful lash mark on her back. “You should learn to better control those around you.”

Emma felt Ursula push the tip of her tentacle inside her and her eyes popped open. She saw the fire clearly and before she could yell any more protests, the fire burned away her and Regina's restraints.

Ursula forced herself further into Emma and purred.

Emma screamed and pushed herself up onto all fours before she tried to flip onto her back.

Just as Emma started to turn onto her side, she felt Ursula's tentacle lazily retreat. She continued to turn around and when she faced Ursula, she immediately understood why the Sea Witch had removed her tentacle.

Regina yanked Ursula's heat out of her chest and held the glowing red and black – though more black than red – organ in her fist. She closed her fist around the heart and caused Ursula to clutch her chest.

Emma watched with wide eyes as Regina squeezed the heart in her fist.

“I'm not weak,” Regina snarled. “I'm the Evil Queen.”

Regina crushed Ursula's heart. As the dust seeped from her closed fist, Ursula fell limp into a puddle on the floor. Regina slowly opened her fist and the rest of the dust rained down into the puddle alongside Ursula.

“Regina,” Emma softly breathed out.

Regina turned to Emma and the purple glow flickered in her eyes until it finally faded. She blinked and heavily exhaled.

Emma gulped when Regina's brown eyes looked her over. She self-consciously brought her knees to her chest and placed her feet in front of her uncovered sex. She wrapped her arms around her ankles and never once took her eyes off Regina.

Regina wobbled where she stood.

“Regina?”

Emma replaced her sudden need for modesty with concern as she watched Regina sway toward her.

Regina shot a hand out and tried to brace herself on the table.

Emma unwrapped herself from her protective hold and slid to the edge of the table. Her legs dangled over the side just as Regina reached out for the table.

Regina collapsed, but Emma quickly caught her.

Emma placed a hand under Regina's arm and slid completely off the table. She turned Regina around as she came to stand behind the other woman and used both arms to keep Regina on her feet.

Regina sank into Emma's embrace as her back pressed against Emma's front.

Both women hissed as their open wounds brushed against each other.

Regina's eyes slipped closed and her knees buckled beneath her.

Emma took all of Regina's dead weight on herself as they fell to the ground together. She wrapped her arms around Regina's chest and held the brunette between her legs, the back of Regina's head on her shoulder.

“Regina?”

No response.

Emma shifted their position to look at Regina. She felt the other woman's chest rise and fall, but her eyes were closed.

“Regina, what do I do?”

Again, no response.

“Come on,” Emma pleaded. “I can't find the ship by myself and I suck at magic.”

Emma brushed hair out of Regina's face and rested her chin on top of the other woman's head.

“Of course you pick now to pass out,” Emma dryly said. “...Time to wake up, Regina.”

She jostled Regina in her arms, but the brunette didn't stir.

“Seriously?”

Emma sighed.

“Please don't leave me to my thoughts,” she quietly said. “Just get me out of here. Please, Regina.”

As Emma ran her hand through Regina's hair again, she didn't notice the purple smoke that started to engulf them until they were completely surrounded by it.

*** * ***

“Where's all the rum,” Jack asked Hook.

“Gone,” Hook replied as he stood behind the wheel, Jack at his side.

Jack glared at Hook as he eyed the man up and down.

“Gone? Why is the rum gone?”

“I haven't used this ship much in quite some time. I _had_ whiskey,” Hook said as he shot Rumple a dirty look from across the ship, though Rumple didn't see it. “But it too is gone I'm afraid.”

Rumple stood by the globe with Snow and Charming, the latter two in worried parent mode for the last several hours. He gripped his cane out of frustration as he heard Snow hyperventilate and breakdown.

“David, it's almost sundown,” Snow shrieked. “What if she's dead? What if Regina killed her? What if she really was working with Ursula and the only reason she went after Emma was to double team her?”

“Snow, you've been playing the what if game for the last few hours,” Charming tiredly replied. “Regina promised if Ursula became a problem that no harm would come to Emma.”

“You should listen to your husband,” Rumple spoke up through gritted teeth.

Both Snow and Charming shared a confused look as they furrowed their brows and turned to Rumple.

“What do you know,” Snow asked, her confusion replaced with suspicion.

Rumple only stared at her. If he was going to reply, he never got the chance.

A cloud of purple smoke appeared across deck and caught the imp's attention.

Snow and Charming simultaneously turned and followed Rumple's line of sight to see the purple smoke.

Snow dropped her jaw and instinctively took Charming's hand. Charming squeezed it as he watched the smoke clear with hope-filled eyes.

Emma blinked, completely shocked and in a daze, as she looked around the Jolly Roger with Regina in her arms.

“Emma!”

Snow and Charming rushed over to their daughter as Emma held Regina close.

With Regina in front of her, they didn't know the full extent of Emma's dress until they got close enough to see bare legs and shoulders.

Charming stopped in front of Emma and an unconscious Regina and took in his daughter's appearance.

Emma stared up at him in embarrassment.

“Oh,” Snow said in realization when she saw Emma's lack of clothes from the blonde's side.

Emma gulped as her cheeks reddened and heated under her parents' gaze and looked from her father to her mother.

Charming shrugged out of his coat and held it out to Emma as he averted his eyes.

“Thanks,” Emma said as she reached up and took the coat.

Snow shed her own coat as well and held it up to shield Emma from sight. She looked around the ship and noticed everyone's eyes – two pirates' and a slimy older man's – on Emma. She kept her daughter cloaked until Emma rose to her feet.

When Emma stood up, she brought Regina with her. She grunted as she struggled to hold the brunette upright.

“What happened,” Charming asked as Snow put her coat back on. “Where's Ursula?”

“Dead,” Emma answered.

“Why are you naked,” Charming asked as he accusingly looked over Regina.

Emma didn't reply.

In the time Emma kept quiet, Charming wrenched Regina away from Emma.

“She let this happen,” Charming growled. “She was supposed to protect you!”

“Dad!”

“David!”

Charming threw an arm around Regina's waist and quickly felt something warm and sticky.

Snow stared with a horrified expression at the sight of Regina's blood covered back.

Charming frowned as he pulled his arm back and saw red stain his skin.

“She _did_ protect me,” Emma said. “Ursula's dead because of her. Though she had enough selfish reasons to kill the hag, she still did it and that's all that matters to me. If she hadn't-”

Emma stopped herself before she carefully thought over her next words.

“Ursula could've done some serious damage if she hadn't,” Emma finished as she looked between Snow and Charming.

“She...she brought you back to us,” Snow said as a tear rolled down her cheek and hugged Emma.

Charming looked from Emma to his wife and sighed when Snow locked eyes with him.

Snow looked at him with soft yet warning eyes.

Instantly, Charming knew what he had to do.

“You must be tired,” he started. “You've been gone for almost an entire day and I'm sure dealing with Ursula wasn't easy.”

“You have no idea,” Emma answered without thinking.

Snow let go of Emma while Charming continued.

“Why don't I take you and Regina back to your room and you can get some rest,” Charming suggested.

“Actually, I could use a drink.”

“Oh, then I've got just the thing for you, love,” Jack said with a smile as he walked toward Emma.

Emma looked him over and groaned.

“You've got to be kidding me. Jack Sparrow is real too? He's not even a fairy tale character.”

“ _Captain_ Jack Sparrow,” Jack pointedly corrected. “Listen, why don't I fetch us some rum from me ship and you can have that drink. Savvy?”

Emma closed her eyes and sighed.

“Why not. Dad, can you take Regina back to the room?”

“Sure, but Emma?”

Charming leaned in so only his daughter could hear.

“What about your clothes?”

“I don't have anything else to wear. I'll just have to wait for Regina to wake up and conjure me new ones.”

“Or,” Rumple interrupted as he stepped forward and waved a hand. Red smoke swirled around Emma.

Underneath Charming's coat, Emma stood in a white turtleneck and dark skinny jeans.

Emma looked down and inspected her new outfit, though it wasn't really new since she'd worn it before back home in Storybrooke.

“What about-” Snow started only to be cut off.

“Payment? This favor's free of charge,” Rumple said.

“Thank you,” Charming said.

“Right. Well,” Emma started. “I'm gonna go have a drink with Captain Jack Sparrow.”

*** * ***

Jack had kindly given Hook a few barrels of rum from his ship after Emma skillfully persuaded him. She'd shared a few mugs with the apparently-not-so-fictional pirate before she left Sparrow's ship and climbed back onto the Jolly Roger, but not before she'd asked for an easily accessible supply of rum.

Jack had seen a fierceness in the blonde that he admired. It was one he recognized in the at first overly feminine turned wily Elizabeth Swan. He'd grinned at Emma when she'd asked to take some rum aboard the Jolly Roger and had some of his men carry over four barrels of it.

“What's your name anyhow,” Jack had asked her as she rejoined the passengers on Hook's smaller ship.

“Emma. Emma Swan.”

“Swan,” he repeated with intrigue.

“Yeah,” Emma casually replied. “Weird name, right?”

“Actually, no. I knew a woman once.”

“Oh, right. Elizabeth. If your real, I guess that means she is too.”

“Aye.”

“Good thing you gave me that rum. Looks like I'm gonna need it.”

Two hours later, Emma sat in the narrow hall of the barracks with yet another tin cup of rum. She gulped down a mouthful of liquid and let it burn down her throat and into her chest.

“What do we have here,” Hook asked as he slowly approached the sitting blonde.

Emma held her knees to her chest with a loosely draped arm over her ankles. She rested her cup on top of one of her knees as she kept her fingers wrapped around the drink.

“How many have you had, Swan,” Hook persisted with a curious tilt of his head.

He stopped in front of her and kept a few feet between them.

“Doesn't matter. Enough to numb myself,” Emma tiredly answered with her back against the wall outside her and Regina's room.

“What happened down there? With Ursula?”

He sounded genuinely concerned.

“...Nothing.”

Emma tipped back the cup and chugged two shots worth of rum. She winced at the taste and grunted in response to the _after_ taste.

“Mind if I join you?”

Hook pointed to the floor beside Emma, but didn't move otherwise.

“Go ahead.”

Hook moved forward and sat down next to her. Just as he leaned back against the wall, Emma silently offered him her drink.

“Thanks,” Hook said as he accepted the proffered rum. “So what happened with Sparrow? You two have that drink?”

Hook took an indulgent sip then handed the drink back to Emma.

“We had three,” Emma replied as she took the cup.

Emma threw back the rum and chugged the remainder of it before she set the cup aside.

“He's just like the movie version of Jack. He's very...smooth,” Emma slurred.

Hook raised an eyebrow.

“You two didn't...you know.”

Emma furrowed her brow and stared at him in deep concentration as she tried to understand Hook. When realization dawned on her, she talked over him as the words “you know” fell from his lips.

“No,” Emma quickly answered. “No. Of course not. I wouldn't even kiss him let alone...”

Emma trailed off as the image of her and Jack being intimate made her shiver with repulsion.

“Just...no,” Emma finished with a shake of her head. “I mean, he's kind of attractive, but it's like...being around him is surreal. He looks so much like Johnny Depp in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies and that's just confusing and unbelievable and...surreal!”

Hook seemed to hang off every slurred word.

“Anyway, I should get some sleep.”

Emma awkwardly tried to stand and clumsily managed to get to her feet. She stopped herself from stumbling when she placed a hand on the door frame of her room.

Hook stood with her and held out his hand in case she fell over. But she never did.

“Careful, love,” Hook said as Emma held herself upright and stood outside the door for another moment.

He walked around to look her in the eyes when he noticed her flushed cheeks and stained shirt. His eyes wandered down from her chest to her hip and saw a streak of red that soaked through her white shirt.

“Are you alright,” Hook asked with a bit of panic and worry.

Emma looked down at her shirt and giggled.

“Yeah. Regina passed out from magical exhaustion or whatever so I have to wait until she wakes up before she can fix it,” Emma drunkenly answered.

“I don't think you're alright. You should really have that looked at.”

Emma dismissively waved a hand at him.

“I'll be fine. A little blood loss never hurt anyone.”

“I'm fairly certain it's killed people,” Hook argued.

“Don't worry about it,” Emma said as she swayed into the room in her inebriated state. “Besides, none of us on this ship are qualified doctors anyway.”

Before Hook could say anything else, Emma shut the door on his face. She stumbled toward the bunk beds and ran a hand through her hair. She stopped in front of the beds and looked down at Regina. She blew out a sigh and dropped down to her knees at the other woman's bedside.

Regina laid on her stomach, still unconscious. The whip marks on her back were still present and appeared even more gruesome in the candlelight that filled most of the small room. With each breath she took, her ripped shirt briefly parted open a little further to reveal more of the cruel lashes.

Though the rum clouded her mind a bit, she looked over their position and realized the similarities. She shot onto her feet and shuffled back a few steps. She disregarded the pain she felt as she moved and crawled into her bunk. She laid on her back and sniffled as she choked on soft sobs.

*** * ***

Regina woke up to the sound of crying. She could tell the person responsible for all the noises made tried to be quiet, but Regina was in pain and in close proximity to that person. No matter how much they suppressed their hiccuped breathing, occasional whimpers, and thick sobs, Regina wouldn't be sleeping until the throbbing tension in her back considerably lessened.

Emma whimpered as she squeezed her eyes shut and pressed the drenched material of her shirt against the deep and lengthy cut that ran down her front. She rolled onto her side to cry into the pillow when she barely opened her eyes enough to see an equally pained woman stand before her. She opened her eyes completely and took in the sight of Regina. As she stared into brown eyes, she started to calm down.

“Are you okay,” Regina softly asked.

“Yeah,” Emma said before she sniffled.

She pushed off the bed to prop herself up on an elbow and cringed. She didn't stop her movements, however, and even pushed further to sit up. Her entire front stung, but she achieved her goal and sat with her legs draped over the side of the bed.

“What about you,” Emma asked as she ignored her own struggle.

“I need you to heal me,” Regina plainly said. “And from the looks of it, you still need healing yourself.”

Regina reached out and clutched the hem of Emma's shirt with one fist.

“Don't,” Emma resisted before Regina could lift her shirt.

Emma covered Regina's hand with one of her own and detached it from her shirt.

Emma gulped and saw sympathy – maybe even empathy – in Regina's eyes. Quickly, she averted her eyes and released Regina's hand.

“I'm sorry,” Regina honestly apologized. “I just need to see the wound. I can't heal you if I don't know the extent of the damage.”

Emma stared at Regina for a long moment before she sighed and grabbed the bottom of her own shirt with both hands. She peeled it off and set it down in a clump beside her on the bed.

Regina's eyes scanned over the bloody streak. She looked sad and even a little guilty as her eyes looked over the wound before they met Emma's in an intense gaze.

“Are you sure you can use your magic,” Emma asked when the silence between them spoke all too loudly for her liking.

“I'm about to find out.”

Regina stepped closer and carefully raised a hand as if to touch Emma's gash. Her hand hovered over the wound and she tried to keep calm as she reached inside herself for her magic. She went from looking at the whip mark to looking straight into green eyes, though her magic had yet to cooperate.

“You can't do it, can you,” Emma stated more than asked.

“I...” Regina apologetically stared at Emma as she started, but trailed off just before she felt a warmth between her outstretched hand and Emma's torso.

Both Regina and Emma looked down to see a purple glow form between them.

“Whoa,” Emma breathed out. “Okay, maybe I'll get hurt more often.”

Regina furrowed her brow.

“Why would you do that, dear?”

“Your magic feels so...good,” Emma said without thinking. “It's better than sex!”

Regina's jaw dropped a little when she heard Emma's words. Her magic surged outward and pulsed into Emma.

Emma gave a soft moan and leaned forward. She reached out and placed a hand on Regina's shoulder to steady herself.

Regina gasped at the effect of her magic, but the gasp quickly turned into baited breath when Emma's hand on her shoulder produced a warm and energetic feeling. Regina recognized it to be only one thing: magic.

Emma lifted her head to look at Regina. Their eyes locked for a moment before her glowing hand brought her attention to Regina's shoulder.

Regina followed Emma's gaze and saw the golden glow that came from the blonde's touch. She felt her skin start to repair, every lash on her back sealing just as Emma's lash did thanks to her own magic.

“You're doing it,” Regina said with awe and disbelief.

Regina looked from her shoulder to Emma.

When Emma felt Regina's eyes on her, she turned her head and met the brunette's gaze. She panted as she locked eyes with Regina. She didn't know what was happening or what she was feeling, but there was something there. There was a spark beneath the surface.

“I didn't even tell you how,” Regina added, completely dumbfounded but amazed.

“I just...I felt your magic and then I- I just _did_ _it_ ,” Emma replied.

Regina didn't know what to say, but she did want to say something. But she also didn't get the chance.

Purple and gold faded as both their wounds completely healed, including the whip mark on Regina's forearm.

Both women felt the loss of magic course through them, both their own magic as well as the other's. They each heavily exhaled and slumped forward, toward each other.

Emma's forehead came to rest on the top of Regina's head while Regina's forehead pressed lightly against the bridge of Emma's nose.

“What was that,” Emma slowly and breathlessly asked.

“I don't know,” Regina admitted just as breathlessly.

As if just then realizing their current position, Regina pulled away from Emma as fast as though she'd been burned.

Emma gripped the edge of the bed harder to keep herself from falling off of it. She'd leaned onto Regina and used the other woman to stabilize her after their magic use, but when Regina pulled away, it off-set her balance.

“Thank you...for healing me,” Regina said as she refused to look Emma in the eyes. “You should get some rest.”

Regina turned to leave, but Emma stopped her.

“I can't sleep,” Emma quietly confessed. “I-”

Regina slowly turned around.

“I'm not okay,” Emma said in an even quieter tone.

Regina stepped closer to Emma again, back to her previous position in front of her. She didn't reach out for her, though part of her seemed to want to.

“Is there a way you can get her off me,” Emma asked, as small as a child in that moment.

Regina shook her head.

“I can still feel her. And those slimy tentacles.”

Emma scrunched up her face in disgust and shuddered.

“I'm sorry. There really isn't anything I can do. If there was a way, I would've done it myself years ago in the Enchanted Forest.”

Emma looked sadly up at Regina. Tears started to well up in her eyes.

“I never let anything like that happen to me while I was in the system,” Emma admitted. “There were plenty of times people tried to, but I fought back. I've never felt so violated.”

Regina looked down at the floor.

“Yes, I know exactly how that feels,” Regina softly said.

“And on top of that, you saw everything,” Emma continued. “I've never cared about modesty, but...it seems so dirty, so wrong, to have been in that position. I mean, to have someone _watch_.”

“If it makes you feel better, which I'm sure it won't, I didn't see much,” Regina said.

Emma looked up at Regina, but her gaze wasn't returned.

“And for the record, it is worse,” Regina continued. “To have an audience. They'll watch someone take what they can from you, what everyone believes to be the thing they _deserve_ from you. They'll watch that person assert their power and even though they're just guards, people that don't really matter, it still makes you feel twice as filthy. And _that_ , that you can't wash off no matter how often or how hard you scrub at your skin.”

Regina slowly lifted her gaze and locked eyes with Emma.

“The guards watched you,” Emma asked, a little horrified. “When?”

“Just on our wedding night. Someone had to be there to ensure the union was consummated so two of them stood by the door to do just that,” Regina said before she shook her head. “But why am I telling you this?”

Regina tried to leave again, but Emma slid off the top bunk and grabbed her by the elbow. She carefully, though not too slowly, turned Regina to face her.

“You saved me,” Emma said after a moment.

“I saved myself,” Regina corrected.

Emma shook her head.

“You could have told me not to fight her. You could have told me to just accept what was happening so she didn't attack you. But you just looked at me. You looked at me like you would be the one to just accept it all.”

“Because I knew you'd fight, especially if I told you not to. Since when do you ever listen to me.”

“You brought me back to the ship. You transported us.”

Regina furrowed her brow.

“I did no such thing.”

“Yes, you did. I begged you to get us out of there and then purple smoke swirled around us. Next thing I know, I'm holding you on the deck of the ship.”

“Miss Swan, the last thing I remember before waking up in this very room was crushing Ursula's heart with my bare hand. I can assure you however we got back to the ship, it wasn't my doing.”

“Then how...?”

Realization dawned on Regina before Emma could piece it together.

“That was all you,” Regina said before a proud smile stretched across her face.

“I transported us? But when you told me to do that after you broke us out of the dungeon, I couldn't do it.”

“You, _unfortunately_ ,must have been thinking too much instead of feeling,” Regina explained before something Emma said finally sunk in.”You were holding me?”

“Oh...uh...yeah. Well, you kind of collapsed in Ursula's palace. I caught you before you could hit the ground and I just kind of...”

Emma shrugged as she trailed off. She didn't finish her sentence that time. She just let it hang in the thickened air between them.

“There's a spell,” Regina broke through the awkward silence. “I can help you fall asleep.”

“No.”

“No?”

“Save your magic,” Emma elaborated on her refusal. “You've drained yourself twice already. Henry's gonna need you at full strength if we're going to face Peter Pan. And presumably the Lost Boys.”

“You should really sleep, dear. Henry will need you at full strength as well.”

“I know. I'll figure it out.”

“If you say so,” Regina started. “May I have my arm back?”

“That depends.”

Regina arched an eyebrow.

“Are you gonna help me?”

“I just offered to-”

“Not with magic.”

“How else can I help you,” Regina asked with genuine bewilderment.

“Um...well, I can't...when this stuff happens and I can't sleep, I usually go out to a bar, get drunk, and take some random guy back to my apartment for a good roll in the sheets.”

“Are you asking me to have sex with you,” Regina asked as she took a step back.

Emma still didn't let go of Regina's arm so she took a step forward with Regina before she quickly answered.

“No,” Emma practically yelled.

Regina looked a little offended and Emma lowered her tone before she continued.

“No, I just don't want to be alone.”

“So...you're asking me to stay with you?”

“Will you?”

Regina shifted in place. She gulped and took a step toward Emma.

“Okay. But only because I don't want our son to die because you're delirious from lack of sleep.”

Emma smiled and started to back up toward the bunk beds.

“Thank you.”

Emma let go of Regina's arm before she turned to see she'd made it to the bed. She bent over and slid into the bottom bunk.

“And just what do you think you're doing,” Regina asked with a raised brow.

“Getting into bed.”

“ _My_ bed.”

Emma grinned.

“Afraid I'll bite, Your Majesty,” Emma teased.

Regina rolled her eyes and leaned in to join Emma.

“Any funny business, Miss Swan, and I'll leave,” Regina said as she slipped in next to Emma.

“I think I can keep my hands to myself,” Emma said. “Just don't use any of your magic on me.”

“Can I at least conjure you a new shirt,” Regina said as she looked over Emma's topless state.

Emma looked down at herself.

“Oh,” she laughed before she looked up at Regina. “Yeah, I'm okay with that.”

Regina waved a hand and dressed Emma in one of her typical white tank tops while she also conjured herself a black V-neck.

“Thanks again,” Emma said after she'd taken in their new appearances.

“...You're welcome.”

Emma squirmed around for a few seconds before she made herself comfortable with her back against the wall and faced Regina.

Regina laid with her back to the room and faced Emma. She didn't have to move much to make herself comfortable, but there was a small amount of wriggling on her part. She stared at Emma while the blonde remained wide awake.

“You'll never get any rest if you don't close your eyes,” Regina said.

“We're gonna have to figure out what to do with Henry when we find him,” Emma voiced her thoughts. “Who he stays with.”

“One thing at a time. Let's worry about finding him. We've got the trip back to Storybrooke to come up with an arrangement.”

“And crushing Ursula's heart. Did you... _enjoy_ that?”

“Shh,” Regina lifted a hand to brush blonde hair out of her face. “Sleep.”

As Regina's hand caressed the younger woman's cheek, a faint purple glow came from her hand.

Emma's eyes fluttered closed as the blonde contentedly hummed.

Regina slowly pulled back her hand when she thought Emma was asleep.

“No,” Regina quietly answered.

After a few moments of watching Emma sleep, she placed a hand over the blonde's heart and closed her eyes. She felt it beat beneath her hand before she heard it in her ears. She tried to slow and control her own breathing so her heart could beat at the same rhythm as Emma's. She only achieved success when sleep claimed her as well.

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Four days ago**

Henry woke up scared and alone in complete darkness. He breathed heavily in a moment of panic and stuck out his hands to feel around for any indication of his location.

He hadn't meant to fall asleep. He didn't even think he could given the fact that he'd been abducted and taken to some far off land he didn't quite catch the name of before he'd been dragged into a glowing green portal.

He flailed his arms and crawled forward on his knees until his hands hit something. He swiped the back of his hands in the space between what he hit the first time and what his knuckles hit the second time. He was sure he felt bars and that somehow kick started his memory.

The last thing he remembered before he tried and failed to fight off sleep was being trapped in a cage by the two that had captured him.

“ _He'll be pleased,” one of the boys said as they looked Henry over._

“ _Mission accomplished,” Tamara smugly said as she smiled at the sight of Henry in the cage._

“ _Really? 'Cause my mom's coming._ Both _of them,” Henry firmly stated._

_He knew both Emma and Regina would come for him. If there was one thing they fought about most often it was him. If they worked that hard to piss each other off trying to keep him to themselves, he knew they'd probably do anything – even work together – to get him back. He'd seen as much when they called out for him outside the cannery and tried to chase down Greg and Tamara before it was too late._

“ _Well, your mom's don't know what they're up against,” Greg spoke in a sickeningly sweet tone as he rubbed his supposed victory in Henry's face. “I doubt even the Evil Queen could save you from_ him _.”_

_Henry's only response was to glare at him._

“ _We should tell HQ and let them know the package has been delivered,” Tamara said. “The kid can't go anywhere so leaving him here should be fine.”_

_Greg turned away from Henry to acknowledge Tamara._

“ _You're right,” Greg said before he turned back to Henry. “Headquarters deserves to hear about our success.”_

_Greg directed his next words solely at Henry._

“ _He's got big plans for you.”_

_Greg then reached into the cage and ruffled up Henry's hair._

_Henry scrunched up his face in disgust and anger and pulled back while he swatted the man's hand away._

_Greg and Tamara chuckled and headed somewhere deep into the woods._

_The dirty looking blond boy left in front of him gave him another once over then turned to leave._

“ _Wait,” Henry called out to him._

_The boy turned back to Henry, but didn't move toward him._

“ _Who's got big plans for me?”_

_The boy laughed._

“ _Kid, do you even know where you are?”_

_Henry shook his head._

_The boy took a step forward that time and wickedly grinned._

“ _You're in Neverland.”_

_Henry tried to act like his brunette mother and mask his emotions. He didn't know what that piece of information truly meant. Good or bad, he didn't want to tip his hand and show his anxiety._

“ _Soooo...I take it this place isn't like the movie,” Henry kept calm and went about it as though he was asking Regina or his grandparents about the Enchanted Forest._

_The boy chuckled._

“ _I don't know what movie you're talking about, but I can guarantee you he's not looking to make friends.”_

“ _And you still won't tell me who he is?”_

“ _If you are who he thinks you are then you should be smart enough to figure that one out on your own.”_

_The boy turned and left Henry in a more confused state than he had been when he was thrown into the cage._

It was the last time Henry had seen any of them, the boy, Greg, or Tamara. None of them had returned before daylight started to fade.

During sunset, Henry had already been tired enough from running around Storybrooke before he'd been kidnapped. Being on high alert for so long only used up his energy faster. It didn't take much time at all for his eyes to droop and flutter closed.

Henry couldn't be sure how long he'd been in the cage. He also couldn't be sure who exactly had big plans for him. The only thing Henry could be sure of were his mothers.

“Mom,” Henry pleaded to the darkness that surrounded him. “Please find me.”

*** * ***

**Today**

Snow had told Charming she wanted to check on Emma. She didn't think Emma was okay and it was obvious Charming felt the same. Their daughter had appeared in a cloud of purple smoke, holding Regina, without even an article of clothing on. She'd looked a little traumatized even before she realized her parents could see her naked.

Charming had went to check on Emma the last time something seemed off with their daughter so he nodded and agreed Snow should be the one to see how she was that time. Snow had smiled at him before she turned to head below deck, but the smile vanished from her then stark white face when she saw the last thing she'd ever expected to see.

With a slack jaw expression, Snow stared from the doorway at her daughter curled up in in Regina's designated bunk with her former stepmother. They were facing each other and were so close that Snow assumed they could feel the other's breaths on their faces.

Regina had a hand on the bed between them close enough to Emma that her knuckles touched the younger woman's chest. Emma, on the other hand, had an arm draped over Regina's hip.

Snow slowly stepped further inside the room. She heard a small scuffle on deck and it caused her to close the room door behind herself. She moved closer to the bed with the same shocked and ghostly pale look on her face, but didn't make a sound. Each step was rigid and deliberate, cautious and controlled by the fear of what the two women sharing a bed meant for the Charming family.

When Snow came to stand only inches away from the bed, she paused before she sunk to her knees in front of it. She reached out and tapped Emma's hand – the one draped over Regina's hip – with two fingers. Her daughter didn't respond. Her eyes wandered from Emma's hand up Regina's side until her gaze locked on brunette hair and her serene expression.

Snow gulped to calm her frantic nerves and shifted her gaze from Regina back to her daughter. She reached out to the blonde and grabbed her shoulder before she gently shook the woman.

Emma scrunched up her face and groaned. When the shaking stopped, she moved closer to Regina.

Snow sighed. She pulled her hand away from Emma's shoulder and grabbed Emma's hand with it.

“Emma,” Snow whispered as she tugged on the blonde's hand a few times.

The movement caused Regina to roll back and forth. That time both women groaned, but that wasn't what made Snow gasp.

Regina blindly reached around herself and grabbed Emma's wrist. She moved it from her hip to her waist, which instantly got Snow to release Emma's hand as she closely watched Regina's actions.

Regina scooted more toward Emma and let go of the other woman's wrist before she wrapped her arm around Emma's hips. She pulled Emma close then rolled her onto her back. She slipped a leg between Emma's and rested her head on Emma's chest.

But even that didn't cause Snow to gasp. What came next, however, did.

Emma loosened her grip on Regina as she brought her arm from the other woman's waist back down to her hip, but brought her other hand to Regina's hair. She placed her hand on the back of Regina's head and seemed to keep Regina in place, not that the other woman appeared to want to move again.

Snow cupped a hand over her mouth after she gasped. She almost fell back on her ass at the sight, but managed to keep herself balanced on her knees.

“Emma?”

Snow kept her voice quiet, barely above a whisper, as not to wake either woman. She didn't think she wanted to be there when either rejoined reality. Instead, she slowly stood and left the two of them to their slumber behind closed doors.

On the deck, she made her way back to her husband. She stood beside him as he watched the the blood in the globe change directions and swirl around.

“I think we're getting closer,” Charming said as Snow came to join him. He turned to look at his wife before he asked, “How is she?”

Snow stood with her mouth agape as she tried to think of what to tell him. After a few seconds, she closed her mouth and gave a quick shake of the head.

“She's okay.”

Though it wasn't a lie, it sounded like one.

Charming narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

“Snow? What's wrong?”

“Nothing. Really. From what I saw she seems okay. She's asleep.”

Charming took a moment to mull over Snow's words. After a moment, he nodded.

“Good. Now, I don't know how this thing works, but I think that spot is Henry,” Charming pointed to the globe.

Snow nodded and looked at the globe before she saw a man sway to a stop in the distance.

Rumple.

Snow looked over the top of the globe and locked eyes with the cane wielding man.

At first he stared at her with an indifferent expression, but the longer she held his gaze, he curled his lips into knowing smirk. She questioningly narrowed her eyes as she continued to stare at him.

Charming started to talk, but she didn't hear anything more than mumbling with her focus set on Rumpelstiltskin. She moved away from the globe and headed over to Rumple.

Charming quizzically stared after his wife before he followed her as Snow crossed the deck until she stood directly in front of Rumple.

“I'll ask you again, what do you know,” Snow asked with a tight voice and determination in her eyes.

“I'm sure I don't know what you mean,” Rumple smugly shrugged as he placed one hand over the other on the handle of his cane.

“Don't lie to me,” Snow shook her head. “What did you mean when Emma came back and you said I should listen to my husband? Regina said no harm would come to Emma if Ursula attacked and then told me to listen to Charming. Why?”

“Snow, I hardly think this is the time,” Charming gently gripped Snow's bicep.

“Let me ask _you_ ,” Rumple continued to smirk. “What did you see?”

Snow almost growled as she narrowed her eyes at him again.

Charming looked over at Snow and realized her anger. He knew Rumple couldn't have gotten that reaction unless he had a point or had pressed a button with her.

“Snow? Is there something you're not telling me,” Charming carefully, quietly asked.

Snow didn't look away from Rumple, but also didn't get to answer her husband before Hook yelled out to them.

“There's land up ahead. We're about to have company,” Hook announced. “This is the Lost Boys territory. Peter Pan's territory, really. The Lost Boys by proxy.”

Everyone turned to acknowledge the pirate steering the ship and Snow's expression immediately softened.

Charming's question receded into the back of his mind as all new questions started to form at the forefront.

Snow did some quick thinking and turned to the larger ship that sailed beside them. She moved to the edge of the Jolly Roger and cupped her hands around her mouth to help carry her voice across the ocean water.

“Jack!”

The other pirate turned his head at the sound, but didn't seem to know the direction of the person calling out to him.

Snow tried again.

“Jack!”

Sparrow turned his head further and caught sight of Snow on the other ship.

Snow dropped her hands to the side of the ship and continued to yell.

“We may need your help. Will you be willing to stick with us a little while longer if we agree to some terms?”

“Aye! Come aboard the Pearl and we'll talk demands,” he shouted back.

Snow turned to Charming.

“Right now I think Emma still needs some rest and, though I think Regina healed herself, I think she could also use the sleep,” Snow informed him. “I say we give them until we reach the shore before I back down to wake them. While they're out, we could use a few extra hands. If Jack agrees to help us, we may just be able to get to Henry faster. Maybe even today.”

“I agree.”

“Okay,” Snow smiled and gave Charming a peck on the lips. “I'll be right back.”

“Be careful.”

Snow nodded before she grabbed one of the rope from a sail and swung herself from the Jolly Roger toward Jack's ship.

A couple of Jack's crew members caught Snow and helped her sit down on the edge of the ship. Snow let go of the rope and it swung back to the Jolly Roger. She draped her arms over either crew member's shoulders and allowed them to pull her backward onto the Black Pearl. When she set both feet on the ground, she waved to Charming then turned to Jack before she walked up to the Captain's station behind the wheel.

*** * ***

Emma arched her back and deeply inhaled as she started to regain consciousness. When she did so, however, she felt an added weight on her chest and frowned. She groaned and moved her right hand around until she realized she held something soft within it. Her breathing picked up and she slowly opened her eyes.

She moved her hand down over the softness, but the more she moved her hand the more she felt beneath it.

Soft, silky brunette hair.

Also, as her hand moved lower, the weight on her chest shifted. When she heard a quiet hum, her eyes had opened completely and she suddenly became aware of the world around her.

“Regina?”

The woman on top of her licked her lips and turned her head as she pushed away from Emma's warm body.

Regina slowly came back to reality herself as she lifted her head off of Emma's chest, though at the time she didn't realize it was Emma's chest. She looked up toward the head of the bed and her eyes widened the second they landed on Emma's.

“Miss Swan.”

It wasn't a question. She knew the blonde haired, green eyed Savior well enough to know she wouldn't fill her dreams with her laying almost entirely on top of the woman. She knew it was real and every moment remembered of how they'd ended up in their current position only served to further support that knowledge.

“Guess I'm not the one who can't keep her hands to herself,” Emma joked.

“And yet your hand is on my shoulder,” Regina said as she kept her eyes locked on Emma's.

Emma smiled as she held back her laughter. She gripped Regina's shoulder tighter with the hand that had previously been on the back of Regina's head.

Just as Regina rolled her eyes and started to get off Emma, the room door opened.

“Emma, sweetie?”

Snow stopped in her tracks barely inside the room when she saw Regina get to her feet and stand in front of the bunk beds.

Regina held on to the wood panel between the two beds and looked over at Snow when Emma came to stand in front of her. Regina's body faced Emma, her side turned to Snow, while Emma faced the door. Emma stood so close, though, that Regina watched her own breath make a few wisps of blonde hair sway.

“Um, we've reached land,” Snow said as she looked from Regina to Emma. “We think Henry's close.”

Emma took a step forward with hope in her eyes.

Regina turned toward the door – turned to Snow – with the same hopeful look.

Without realizing it, both Emma and Regina reached out for the other until they held hands.

“Jack has agreed to help us,” Snow continued.

“Jack,” Regina asked.

Emma turned to Regina.

“Jack Sparrow,” Emma explained.

“Like from the movies?”

“You've seen Pirates of the Caribbean,” Emma incredulously asked.

“Only because of Henry.”

Snow shook her head after she watched the short conversation between the two women then spoke up.

“Right, so Jack's agreed to help. He was trying to find some treasure or something when his ship flipped over and brought him here. He just wants to get back to the sea he knows so he can find his...whatever,” Snow waved her hands, not sure what it was exactly that Jack was after. “So I told him we would help him back if he helps us get to Henry.”

“Then let's do it. Let's get Henry back,” Emma said.

Snow smiled and nodded, but apprehensively looked down at Emma and Regina's joined hands. When the two of them headed toward the room door, she saw Emma and Regina seamlessly let go of the other's hand. She turned to follow the two women toward the hatchway and sighed before she finally went after them.

Hook climbed off the Jolly Roger and onto the dirt when all three women got on deck. Rumple and Charming already stood on land much like Jack and some of his crew. Charming cautiously looked around to ensure their safety, but when he noticed his wife and daughter he faintly smiled with some relief.

“Okay, so what's the plan,” Emma asked as she threw a leg over the side of the ship and started to join the others on the ground.

“I have this compass,” Jack started as he fiddled with the compass in his hand. “It will point you in the direction of whatever it is your heart desires.”

“We use that and it'll lead us to Henry,” Emma asked before she turned to see Regina as the brunette tried to remain regal when she started to climb off the ship.

“Aye,” Jack answered while Snow, Charming, and Rumple watched Emma.

Emma didn't know why she did it and she honestly didn't even think about it before she reached out and took Regina's hand.

Regina gave only a moment of pause when she looked back and forth from the ground to Emma's hand before she accepted it. She gripped it when she perched herself on the banister then jumped onto the dirt.

When Regina jumped, Emma reached out with her other hand in case the woman needed more support. And for a moment, she did.

Regina stumbled forward a few feet, toward Emma, and braced herself on Emma's shoulder.

“Thank you,” Regina breathed out when she steadied herself with her eyes cast down.

Regina looked up and when she met green eyes, Emma shrugged and let go of Regina's hand.

“Which one of you want my compass,” Jack said as he waved the device around, completely oblivious to the moment that had occurred between birth mother and adoptive mother.

Everyone, including Emma and Regina, turned to Jack.

“Well, we all want the same thing, right,” Emma asked. “I guess any one of us could take it.”

Charming noticed Snow try to get down from the ship and went over to help her. Snow didn't need much help, but Charming gently placed a hand on her lower back and stayed close as she dropped down from the ship. He wrapped an arm around her waist and the two sidled up to Regina who remained at Emma's side.

“Well, not _all_ of us,” Hook piped up.

Emma narrowed her eyes and prepared herself to glare at him. She hadn't liked where it seemed the pirate seemed to go with his statement.

“I want you to get your boy back, but I wouldn't put that compass in my hands,” Hook finished.

“Maybe one of us would be the best choice,” Regina spoke up and turned to Emma.

“Right,” Emma gave a single nod before she stepped forward and took the compass from Jack.

She looked down at it briefly while the pointer spun around a few times, but looked up before it settled on a direction. She stuck out her hand and offered the compass to Regina.

“You should take it,” Emma suggested.

Regina furrowed her brow and shook her head.

“I don't understand,” Regina said.

“You've been wanting to be with Henry much longer than I have. He's been staying with me for a while and I know that it bugs you how little you've gotten to see him. I can't think of anyone who wants to find him more than you. You're our best chance at getting him back,” Emma explained.

Regina stood speechless with her lips parted as she looked from Emma's eyes to the compass. After a few seconds, she took it from the younger woman. The pointer started to spin again and Regina took that time to look up at Emma again.

“Thank you...again,” she said.

Emma didn't respond. She just stared at Regina and watched the brunette look down at the compass.

The pointer stopped and Regina looked up in the direction it suggested.

“It says he's that way,” Regina pointed along with the compass and the others all looked in that direction.

“Into the woods we go,” Hook gravely said.

Charming unsheathed his sword while Hook took the lead into the woods.

“My men will stay and guard the ships,” Jack said to Charming and Snow. “I'll join you to make sure nothing happens to my compass, savvy?”

“Sure,” Charming agreed with quizzically furrowed brows before he looked back at his family. “Whatever you do, stay behind me. Regina can handle herself with her magic, but Emma...”

Charming waited until he had his attention.

Emma looked at him, already a little upset because she could tell he was about to say something she wouldn't want to hear.

“You're kind of defenseless so I need you to just hang back. Okay?”

“What?! You're benching me? Come on! I can do this,” Emma angrily insisted.

“He's right,” Regina sadly said without looking at Emma.

It appeared as though Regina really didn't want to admit that particular truth. Part of her seemed almost pained to say it.

“Seriously,” Emma disbelievingly asked as she turned to Regina. “You think I'm defenseless too?”

“Emma, honey,” Snow calmly started. “It's just like in the Enchanted Forest. You're out of your element.”

“What if I had a gun,” Emma asked as quickly shut off her emotional valve for a moment of true hopefulness.

“Guns won't do much damage here,” Charming informed her. “Like your mother said, it's like the Enchanted Forest.”

“Well, then I  _ do  _ know  _ some  _ magic,” Emma tried another tactic. 

Regina shook her head.

“You haven't practiced nearly enough,” Regina said with a bit of warning.

“And you don't know how to wield a sword,” Charming added.

“What about Mom,” Emma asked as she hysterically motioned to Snow. “She doesn't have any weapons and you trust her to take care of herself.”

Regina looked down at the ground, partially guilty and partially sad, as she flicked her wrist.

Purple smoke clouded Snow's left shoulder and her right hand for a moment then dissipated. The cleared smoke revealed several arrows in a carrier slung over Snow's left shoulder and a bow in her right hand.

“Thank you,” Snow quietly expressed her gratitude to Regina.

“You're kidding me,” Emma shook her head.

“Emma, just stay behind me,” Charming said with a much softer, more fatherly tone.

Emma scoffed.

“Guess this is what it's like not to have anyone believe in you,” Emma bitterly said before she directed her attention to Regina. “Oh, wait. I already knew what that feels like. God, I know I still owe you an apology for the Archie thing, but I seriously thought you were done with your revenge kick.”

Regina finally looked up and apologetically stared into Emma's eyes.

“I know I wouldn't depend on myself to save our asses if things go horribly wrong, not if all I've got to use is magic, but I brought us back to the ship.  _ I _ did that and you never taught me how,” Emma shot daggers with her eyes at Regina as she closed the distance between them. “You may have saved me from Ursula, but I got us out of that hell hole. I'm not defenseless. I'm not...useless.”

“I never said-” Regina tried to argue or even defend herself, but Emma wouldn't let her finish.

“You didn't have to. You still think of me as the annoying woman who isn't fit to be in Henry's life who's only good at being a threat to you.”

Emma turned and walked past her parents toward where Hook had disappeared behind several low hanging trees then continued.

“And I'm not five. I can take care of myself. I know how to fight. I was a bounty hunter for God's sake and I bounced around from one abusive foster home to the next. I know how to get out of sticky situations. If I need your help, I'll let you know, but I will  _ not  _ follow you guys around like some incompetent princess.”

“Emma,” Charming called after her like a sorry parent who only wanted their child to understand where they were coming from.

And that's exactly what he was.

“It's okay,” Snow assured him as she patted Charming's back. “She'll need a few minutes to calm down and then we can try to explain it to her. It's sort of like what I had to do in the Enchanted Forest...except I don't remember her being as emotional.”

“That's because in the Enchanted Forest she didn't have to worry about whether or not her son was okay,” Regina growled.

Rumple chuckled as he leisurely leaned against one of the many nearby trees. He'd been forgotten and yet again, had access to the dysfunctional family show staring the Charmings and the former Evil Queen.

Regina turned to glare at him.

“Well done, dearie,” Rumple sarcastically complimented her. “I told you she'd see the real you. How long was it that she was on your side before she realized...you'll never change.”

What started out as a question turned into a twisted statement spoken in an inappropriately proud tone. Rumple's eyes glittered over with dark amusement, his focus solely on Regina.

Regina clenched her fists until she almost crushed the compass. When she felt the object sharply press into her palm, surely hard enough to leave a bruising indentation, she unclenched her fists.

“That's it! What the hell is going on,” Charming asked. “First Snow wants to know what  _ you  _ know about Regina and now this? Fess up, Gold.”

Rumple grinned.

“Why don't you ask Regina what the compass has to say about what just happened,” Rumple kept his gaze on Regina and nodded at the compass in her hand.

Regina narrowed her eyes at him for a moment before she let his words control her actions. She looked down to inspect the compass, which had slightly changed direction since the last time she'd looked at it. A few seconds later, the pointer slowly adjusted in what appeared to be a calculated movement.

“You people have issues,” Jack gruffly spoke up. “By any chance, are any of you related?”

Snow sighed.

Rumple laughed.

Regina rolled her eyes.

“It's complicated,” Charming said without further explanation.

Jack smiled and attempted to stifle a laugh then strutted forward.

“Shall we,” Jack asked as he motioned toward the direction Emma and Hook had headed in.

“Yes, let's get on with it,” Regina grumbled and headed where the compass told her she wanted to go.

*** * ***

**Three days ago**

When he woke up, the sun was out and he was alone. He wasn't sure if he should be thankful for that or if it was worse to be abandoned in what appeared to be the middle of nowhere.

He was hungry and completely parched. The last thing he remembered eating was cereal for breakfast the morning he was abducted. He was sure that had only been yesterday, but being outside of Storybrooke, in another world, had been disorienting. He assumed when he woke up, he'd be in his bed at Emma's apartment and it would have only been a dream.

As he looked around at the wooded, forest-like area he didn't remember seeing in his book of fairy tales, he sadly decided it had all been real.

The sun shifted in the sky and trees no longer kept from the harsh rays. He not only had to squint to see beyond the bars of the cage but control his breathing to regulate his body temperature. He didn't remember the sun being so bold and bright the day before. Everything seemed against him.

After more than a simple, much expected seen of sweat coated his little body, some rustling sounded from one side of the clearing he was stuck in the center of. He turned to see a man emerge from behind low hanging branches with thick, droopy leaves that reminded Henry of a willow tree.

Henry narrowed his eyes into angry slits when he identified the man as Greg.

“Hey,” Greg greeted with a subtle, though still delectable, slimy grin.

“Unless you brought food, you should leave,” Henry bitterly said as he gripped his hands around the cage bars.

Greg chuckled.

“I didn't bring food. What kind of food do you think I'd be able to bring you anyway? Take a look around, Henry. We're on an island in the middle of Neverland.”

“I just talked to the others,” a female voice, a little out of breath, spoke up as a woman appeared from the same area Greg had. “They said it shouldn't be long before he comes to see the boy.”

“Good.”

Henry glared at Tamara.

“Oh, would you look at that,” Greg laughed as he kept his eyes on Henry. “He looks every bit like Regina.”

“Yeah? And just like her, you don't know what I'm capable of,” Henry threatened.

“Actually, Henry, I know exactly what your mom is capable of and guess what? It doesn't scare me because I can do much worse.”

“I doubt that,” Henry said.

Greg snickered then turned to Tamara.

“Any idea why it's taking so long for him to see if he's the one they're looking for,” Greg asked as he pointed to Henry.

“Apparently, we weren't the only ones to get through to this land,” Tamara answered after she looked Henry over.

“It's my moms. I told you they'd come for me,” Henry smirked.

Tamara laughed in his face.

“From what I hear,” Tamara started as she stepped closer to the cage. “They won't get past him. They may be coming to save you, but that doesn't mean they'll be successful.”

Henry flared at her like a caged animal, which fit his description due to his position behind bamboo bars.

“They'll die just like Neal,” Tamara told him with a wide and wicked grin.

Henry growled.

“He was way too good for you even before we all knew you were evil,” Henry said as he continued to glare at her.

“He was an idiot,” Greg interjected.

“He was better than either of you will ever be,” Henry snarled.

Tamara shook her head.

“He didn't want to help our cause,” she shrugged. “I think it's only fair he and the rest of your family are out of the picture.”

“We should get back to the camp,” Greg said as he gently grabbed Tamara's bicep, his eyes solely on Henry.

Henry angrily stared at both Greg and Tamara.

“We'll see you later, Henry,” Tamara said with a smug expression. “That is, _if_ you're still alive by then.”

Greg and Tamara went back into the woods from the direction they had arrived from.

Henry huffed and stepped back from the front of the cage. He hit the back of the cage with a light, unheard thud and leaned against it before he sank to his butt. His knees reached his chest when he slid down the bars and frowned, almost pouted.

“They'll save me,” Henry said to no one in particular. “I know they will.”

 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are asterisks and line breaks used in this chapter. The asterisks separate what's happening with Henry from the line breaks, which are used to separate what's happening with Emma, Regina, and the others. Hopefully it's not too confusing. This is the last chapter that uses both asterisks and line breaks.

**Yesterday**

Henry couldn't be sure when he'd fallen asleep again, but he knew he'd fallen asleep in the shade. When he woke, he was just as hot as he'd been before Greg and Tamara had tried to break his spirit.

The sun wasn't as hot or as high in the sky as it was when he first woke up, but it streamed through the tree limbs while it started to set.

He looked up and squinted. Had it been a full day? Or was the sun setting on a completely different day then the one he'd woken up on the first time around?

“Here,” a gruff voice quickly said.

Henry looked over at the front of the cage and saw a blond haired teen on the other side. The blond held out a coconut near the bamboo bars.

“What is that,” Henry asked as he remained where he was against the back wall of the cage.

“Food,” the blond answered, sticking to one word explanations for the moment.

Henry sighed and stood up. He slowly made his way to the blond and cautiously accepted the coconut.

“If you can break it open, you deserve to have it,” the blond said.

“You mean, I have to earn my meals? It's only a coconut.”

“You're lucky you're getting the coconut.”

Henry turned the coconut over several times in his hand and inspected it.

“Well,” the blond asked with a raised eyebrow as he looked from Henry to the coconut. “Get to work. If you can't break that open by the time me and the others come back, you don't get supper.”

“Are you saying that if I can eat this before then, I get real food?”

The blond laughed.

“No, that _is_ your food. If you can't eat it before I come back, it'll be taken from you and you won't get anything else to have until sometime tomorrow.”

The blond turned and started to walk away.

“Why are you doing this,” Henry asked.

“Because it's how you prove yourself in this land,” the blond replied over his shoulder as he slowed his pace, but kept walking. “We all went through it. If you're gonna survive here, you've gotta make it through tests like these. Besides, none of us are gonna go out there and kill some animal for you. If he decides to let you out, then and only then, will you be able to kill them for yourself. _That_ will be your so called 'real' food.”

The blond then vanished into the woods and Henry had a test to pass.

He looked down at the coconut and groaned. He got down on his knees and started to bang the coconut against the ground.

* * *

 

**Today**

The compass pointer adjusted continuously with slight flickers. It appeared what Regina's heart desired was on the move.

Regina looked at the tip of the pointer then slid her eyes up from the compass to follow the dirt pathway the group walked on. There was nothing up ahead other than wild trees similar to those she hadn't seen since she lived in the Enchanted Forest. Vines hung low enough from them to nearly strangle anyone that simply walked into them. The bark had some moss on it, but was otherwise healthy.

The group had decided that as important as finding Henry was, Emma and Hook needed to be found first.

Snow and Charming followed closely behind Regina with their weapons at the ready. They scanned every inch of the woods for their daughter even though they knew she'd gone off with Hook. They didn't trust the pirate, but at least he wasn't as dangerous as anything they could face and all they had faced in Neverland.

Rumple continued with the group, but he stayed behind them at a distance. He limped across uneven terrain with a tense grip on his cane a few feet behind the rest of them.

Jack stayed close to Regina, or rather close to his compass. He kept nervously, worriedly, glancing back at itas they headed further into the woods. He had willingly given over the compass and didn't think they'd want it for anything more than finding what they had apparently went to Neverland for, but he'd given the compass away once before. Without it, he found himself lost once again like he had been before the device came into his possession. He sailed without purpose and as much as he liked the sea, he needed more.

When he got the compass back, surprisingly not through theft for once, he felt right. He was in touch with what he wanted again. Of course, he'd already freed his precious Pearl from the bottle he'd found it in on some island in the Caribbean. After that, he didn't have anything to go after. It wasn't until he met up with the woman he'd given the compass to that he found something to fight for: her. He wasn't sure what he was doing at the time, he'd just acted. It wasn't until she bled out in his arms and returned his compass that he realized he finally didn't care solely for himself anymore. Though when he lost her, he lost the only person he cared for other than himself. So he was back to being a lonely, selfish pirate. Not even a man.

Putting the compass in another woman's hands didn't mean as much as it had the first time and he treasured the thing so he fidgeted with every second the compass spent in Regina's hand.

“How could they have gotten this far,” Regina asked.

Snow stared at her former step-mother's back with much suspicion. She didn't know what she had noticed in the difference in Regina's behavior and what she saw in Emma's room earlier, but she felt a knot in the pit of her stomach that signified she wouldn't like it.

“Emma does have an ability to walk fast when she wants to,” Charming supplied.

“And Hook left the group a few minutes before Emma,” Snow added. “Maybe Emma went off to find him?”

Regina heard what they said and she knew Charming was right, but she definitely didn't like Snow's hypothesis. Every conversation she had with Rumple about Emma steered her closer to the truth about how she felt about everything, but the closer she got to that truth the greater her fear became.

The sun rested on the curve of the horizon. Soft oranges colored the sky masked by the surrounding area's trees. So when sunset turned into a rolling cloud of darkness, no one expected it and everyone looked up.

Regina was the first to gasp. She dropped the hand holding the compass to her side and tensed.

Snow clutched tighter to her bow and quiver, her mouth agape.

“You all are up against some strange things,” Jack started. “I didn't agree to help you so I could fight _that_.”

“I'm afraid he found us,” Rumple spoke up as he stopped to stare at what circled them from above.

“And who exactly is he,” Charming asked with a thick, strong voice also laced with a good amount of fear from uncertainty.

“As I've said before, someone we should all fear,” Rumple answered as he unclenched and clenched his fist around the handle of his cane.

“That doesn't really answer the question now, does it,” Regina rhetorically asked, but it sounded more like a statement.

The cloud of darkness came back again and swooped down. Glowing eyes blinked at Regina before the dark, transparent figure lunged at her.

Regina's eyes widened and her jaw dropped further in a silent gasp, too stunned to respond any other way.

The Shadow.

All of the group members from the Enchanted Forest knew the stories about Neverland, knew about the Shadow. And of course Hook, having come from Neverland, knew first hand about it.

Regina didn't know what it would do to her as it came for her, but she knew what it was capable of. Though she had magic and could defend herself, how did someone fight something that wasn't corporeal?

The Shadow reached out its hands and shoved Regina onto her back in the dirt.

Regina landed with an “oof” when the air shot out of her lungs. She tried to catch her breath, instantly winded from the harsh impact on the ground, and slowly pushed herself onto her elbows.

The Shadow took its time lowering itself toward her.

Snow and Charming wanted to help. The looks on their faces said as much, but they didn't know how.

The Shadow loomed over Regina and reached out again, that time slower and more deliberately.

Several twigs snapped loudly in rapid succession near by.

The Shadow blinked and pulled back an inch. It looked over its shoulder in search for something then flew away in a hurry.

Snow and Charming rushed over to Regina and each held out a hand to help her up.

Without thinking about it, she grabbed both their hands and allowed them to help her to her feet. When she stood, the three of them let go of each other and she brushed her hands over her leaf- and dirt-covered clothes.

“What just happened,” Snow asked as she worriedly looked at Regina.

“I don't know,” Regina honestly answered.

The three of them looked to Rumple who shrugged after he realized all eyes were on him.

“Don't look at me,” he said. “I'm just as shocked as you. Although I will say, _that's_ who we should all fear.”

“Because we can't fight it,” Regina asked.

“That's a good reason, but that, dearies, was-”

Before Rumple could finish his explanation, a loud and familiar voice called out from the distance.

“Get the hell away from my son!”

* * *

 

**Yesterday**

He had been able to open it, but even the slightest bit of nourishment from the coconut juice still didn't suffice. Though when the boys had taken an exceptionally long time to get back to Henry, it proved to be in his favor. They had surprisingly supplied him with a few scraps of food leftover from their earlier meal at “his” request. The infamous “he” the boys kept talking about seemed to show kindness, or at least what posed as sympathy.

It was dark at that time. The only thing that lit up the clearing were burning torches placed in the ground in a circular pattern around it.

The boys only came to check on Henry, which really meant they wanted to make sure he hadn't escaped. Apparently, whoever wanted Henry there didn't want to make his presence known just yet.

But according to a dark haired boy, the only reason “he” hadn't come by to see Henry was because he'd been preoccupied with several intruders.

“It must be those pesky people come to save _you_ ,” the dark haired boy spat out the last word when he pointed to Henry. “He said he actually managed to trick them into stopping at this one place in the middle of nowhere.”

The boys all smiled and started to laugh before the dark haired one continued.

“He set up this place, like a 'pit stop' or whatever, and when they stopped he was gonna attack, but then he saw Ursula's eels nearby and decided to let her take care of them for him.

“He said two of them went overboard and haven't come back yet. The others, unfortunately, are still out there.”

Henry tried not to appear on the verge of tears. He felt a pang of worry and utter sadness like something was severely wrong. His heart beat faster at the news and he just knew something had happened to either Emma or Regina. But because the boy had said two people had gone overboard, it could have been both of his mothers in danger.

He wouldn't show it, but the boys around him seemed to want him broken and they got it. He feared his mothers wouldn't be able to save him. He knew they would try, he believed they would anything including work together to save him, but that didn't mean they would make it out of wherever they were alive.

Henry quickly learned in his time trapped in the cage that nothing was guaranteed. Regina could use magic and Emma could cause plenty of harm on her own, but what were they even up against? He thought he was going to lose them in the mines the day he'd been kidnapped. He hadn't lost them then, but he'd come damn close. Anything was possible and he was hungry. So hungry.

When the boys left him that night and his stomach loudly growled for sustenance, he wondered for the first time if his mothers did make it to him alive, would _he_ still be alive?

*** * ***

**Today**

All of the Lost Boys stood with their eyes fixed on a caged Henry except for the one who considered himself the leader, a blond boy with a sinister smile and wicked gleam in his eyes.

Henry backed himself up to stand in the center of the cage. He wanted to keep himself away from the blond boy as he circled around the cage like a predator stalking its prey. 

“What do you think, Felix,” one of the other boys asked from the line up of teens a few feet away.

The boy who asked had short but scraggly black hair.

All the boys, including him, had dried dirt on their faces and on their hands. In fact, most of their bodies were covered in dirt as well as the rags they had for clothes.

Felix, the blond boy, pulled a worn drawing from one of his pockets and held it up to the cage bars for comparison. He glanced from the photo of a boy's head to the boy in the cage. He slowly grinned.

“We got him,” Felix announced with his back to the other Boys, though he didn't yell.

The Boys behind him smiled.

“Finally,” the black haired boy said with relief. “He'll be satisfied.”

“Then we'll get what we came for,” Greg asked as he approached from somewhere in the woods, Tamara at his side.

Felix's grin faded once he heard Greg's voice.

Henry turned to see his abductors make their way toward the Lost Boys.

“Only when he sees fit,” Felix turned and answered Greg.

Henry swallowed hard before he mustered up enough courage to ask the question he'd wanted to ask since Greg and Tamara grabbed him in the mines.

“What does he want with me,” Henry asked.

He stayed rooted in the center of the cage and tried to keep his breathing regulated.

_Show no fear,_ he thought to himself. 

Biologically, he came from royalty. Snow White and Prince Charming fought in the face of danger whenever it presented itself. Most of the time, the danger ended up being his other mother Regina.

Regina didn't entirely come from royalty herself, though her father was a prince. But Cora had made her a Queen and once she had that power, she refused to give it up. Henry wasn't entirely sure why since he figured his mother didn't want to turn into Cora – who would? – but she unwittingly had. With that came her magic training and inability to lose any battle, big or small. Even when faced with her own death, which had happened on more than one occasion, she always appeared strong.

Then there was Emma. She was the reason he was related to Snow and Charming, but Emma had plenty of power of her own. Though he didn't know much about her before he brought her to Storybrooke, he could see she'd been tough for a while and that toughness appeared unwavering.

Emma fought everything. He saw her as a hero because the book of fairy tales he swore by said she was the Savior. But also, the entire time he tried to convince her of that, he believed it more and more each day when she went behind Regina's back just to see him. He believed it more and more from the way she took everything head on. Even if she didn't seem willing to do something, she still did it anyway because she knew it would mean something later.

Henry came from courage and goodness and strength and damn it if he didn't combine the best parts of his grandparents and his two mothers in such a sticky situation.

Felix looked back at Henry and darkly chuckled.

“You'll provide him with great power.”

“You still won't tell me who he is,” Henry boldly said as he balled up his fists at his sides.

“You'll find out soon enough,” Felix said. “He'll be here before you know it. He'll be thrilled to meet you.”

Felix stared straight into Henry's eyes for a moment, a darkness and demented look in them as he did.

Henry felt threatened and scared, but he kept his features controlled much like Regina would. He couldn't deny the stare sent shivers down his spine, but he refused to let any of the people around him know that.

Once Felix felt as though he had sized up and intimidated Henry, he turned his back on him and faced the Lost Boys.

“Today is the day he praises us,” Felix started to make a speech. “Now that we've got the kid in a cage, we'll be treated with a little more respect.”

Felix went on, but after a few more sentences Henry tuned him out. He took in the boys' appearances and pieced together just who they were with the few words he'd heard Felix say to the others and the knowledge that he was in Neverland. Something clicked in his mind about the last four days and after a moment of realization, his eyes fell to the cage's latch. It was bound to the bars with a frayed rope.

The cogs in Henry's mind started to turn and a plan soon formed.

Henry looked over at Greg and Tamara and saw them busy staring at each other. They seemed to be having their own hushed conversation while occasionally acknowledging what the boys had to say in case it pertained to them. At least that's what the street smart, Emma Swan part of Henry's eleven year old brain had deduced.

All of the boys were focused on Felix while the blond paced back and forth giving some kind of victory speech.

Henry slowly stepped up to the front of the cage and looked left and right to keep his eyes on everyone. He wanted to make sure he hadn't attracted any attention and so far he hadn't. He carefully reached between the bamboo bars of his cage, the easiness of his escape something he wished he'd noticed sooner.

He slid his hand over the latch and made sure not to stare down at it. If he did, he was sure to focus too much on the latch and someone would figure out his plan. He gripped at the frayed rope and subtly tugged at it. After two or three tugs, he stopped with his fist still clenched around the scratchy material. He peered around and pretended to listen to Felix then glanced over at the oblivious Greg and Tamara.

His eyes flicked down to the latch for a fleeting moment, just long enough to evaluate how the latch was secured. When he looked up, he waited a second or two before he started to tug and pull at the rope again. After a few twists and pulls, he reached between the bars with his other hand and started to awkwardly attempt to untie the rope.

Felix pointed at Henry and Henry stealthily slid his hands back inside the cage to rest at his sides. He looked around at the group of boys then looked down at his feet like some sad, trapped puppy.

Greg stared at him for a short moment when Felix had directed the Lost Boys' attention to the kid. Tamara said something when Felix dropped his hand and continued to talk about the person they had yet to meet. That was when Greg turned his head and gave her his full attention.

Henry looked up in the direction of Greg and Tamara. Convinced the two were preoccupied with each other once again, he looked to the boys in front of the cage. Even Felix stood at a distance, closer to a small pond, if it was even a pond. To Henry, it looked more like a puddle, though he wasn't sure how deep the murky water went.

He carefully slipped his hands out again and worked through the knot of the rope. Within another minute, he'd successfully done more than loosen it. He pulled the rope into the cage with him before he let it fall to the ground. He may have only been eleven years old, but he tended to think like one or the other of the handful of adults he idolized. Not that it was the most important or prominent thing on his mind, but he hoped his mothers would be proud he'd managed to escape if he did in fact pull it off.

For some reason, though he was supposedly the focus of everyone's goals, none of them seemed to pay him any attention in that moment. Given the perfect opportunity, Henry swiftly flipped the latch upward and opened the cage door.

He had seconds, he knew, before someone would see him head into the woods. He also knew he had no idea where he would be going when he ran, but he had to get out of there. He had to find his mothers. He wouldn't settle for anything less than his family.

Without much more thought, Henry pushed open the cage door and disappeared in a flash.

“Hey, he's making a run for it,” he heard Greg shout at the others.

Henry looked over his shoulder with wide eyes and watched as all of those he'd been surrounded by had started to chase after him.

* * *

 

Regina headed in the direction of Emma's yell, but the blonde didn't yell again. She couldn't hear anything more than panting and footfalls as Charming, Snow, Jack, and herself rushed toward where they assumed Emma was. Convinced they wouldn't find anyone that way, Regina looked down at the compass and followed the arrow.

Snow and Charming started to veer off to the right when the wind picked up and the distant sound of what imitated an angry mob grew from a dull whisper to an almost cacophonous roar.

“No,” Regina called out to them.

Snow and Charming whipped their heads to acknowledge her, both of them obviously confused as they slowed down.

“This way,” Regina pointed forward, a little more to the left than they had originally been running.

“I'm followin' her,” Jack said and motioned toward Regina while he stepped closer to her. “The compass doesn't lie.”

Snow sighed and looked to Charming. The two had a short, silent conversation all through a simple stare.

Rumple limped forward in the distance, but he didn't appear too concerned with catching up and just watched where he stepped.

It didn't matter what he did anyway. Yet again, no one could seem to remember he even existed and he couldn't have cared less. He'd already lost his son, the only reason he'd trained Regina and gave her the dark curse to cast. He waited more years that he could count to travel realms and get Baelfire back, but it was all for naught.

But then something suddenly clicked. Revenge had lead to his lust for power and there was revenge to be had for his son's death.

Rumple stopped dead in his tracks and listened closely to the sounds not made by his traveling companions. He listened to the riled up crowd off to one side and limped with a little more purpose toward them.

Snow and Charming took a step toward Regina together, in sync. They didn't know Jack Sparrow and they weren't sure they could completely trust Regina yet, but they did know that Emma said Regina had saved her from Ursula. They had to believe Regina had at least changed enough not to steer them wrong when it came to their family.

All three of them followed Regina as she hastened her pace and swatted away leaves and vines and all kinds of Neverland nature. Her intentions seemed clear enough: she wanted to find whatever stood on the other side of the woods.

Regina glanced up and down from the compass to all the island foliage in front of her with determination. She breathed more erratically the closer she felt to where the compass lead her. She couldn't explain why, but she hoped it meant she'd find what the compass told her she wanted.

In the not-so-far-off distance, the woman they'd heard before yelled out again.

“Henry!”

Instantly, Regina's eyes widened at the sound of panic in the woman's voice.

“Emma,” Regina called out. “Henry?!”

“The compass,” Jack said as he peered over her shoulder and pointed with both hands to the object.

Regina looked quizzically at Jack before she readjusted her focus to the compass again.

Just before Henry yelped, the pointer sharply turned to the left.

Regina didn't hesitate to vanish in a cloud of purple smoke.

“Whoa,” Jack stumbled back a few steps in shock. “Where'd she go?”

Jack looked to Snow and Charming who seemed more than concerned with the recent chain of events, but when they heard Henry groan and make a few other sounds of discomfort, they sprinted forward.

When the purple smoke cleared, Regina looked around the uninhabited part of the island. There were only leaves and vines and dirt. She heard sounds of distress come from her right, from the place she had transported herself from.

Then, she heard a grunt behind her and snapped her head to face whatever had made the sound. She scanned the area at eye level before she heard a groan and shuffling of leaves then redirected her eyes to the ground.

Blonde hair filled her vision as Emma slowly pulled her slumped body away from a tree trunk. She reached behind herself and pressed a hand to the back of her head.

Regina swallowed hard and looked down at the compass. It pointed right at Emma.

“No,” Regina softly breathed out before she looked over at the younger woman, baffled.

Emma scrunched up her face as she pulled her hand away from her head, oblivious to Regina's presence. When she opened her eyes and stared down at her hand, she saw blood.

“Damn,” Emma grumbled.

“Emma! Regina!”

Snow yelled for both women between shooting arrows at the Lost Boys.

Charming slashed his sword at a Lost Boy himself. He glanced over at Henry after every swipe he took at a dark haired boy while a blond haired boy pulled Henry away from the fight.

Henry growled as he kicked and squirmed in the blond boy's arms, but he couldn't seem to free himself. He tried to shake back and forth in an attempt to do so, but just as Snow released an arrow his eyes widened in fear.

“Grandma, turn around!”

Emma's eyes shot wide open at the sound of Henry's warning. She scrambled to her feet and caught sight of Regina.

“What- Why aren't you with Henry,” Emma asked with a raised voice, almost hysterical for the younger woman.

Regina looked from the direction of the battle to Emma. Immediately, she saw the anger in green eyes.

“Take me to him,” Emma growled as she forcefully grabbed Regina's hand.

Regina felt something wet and sticky between their hands and looked down. She saw the blood, but when Emma rapidly jostled her arm around she looked into dark green eyes.

“He needs us! Help me get my son back or get out of the way.”

Not even a second later, purple smoke surrounded them.

They reappeared in the middle of the battle. A bunch of Lost Boys against Charming.

Emma looked around, but she couldn't see her mother anywhere. She did, however, see Henry being dragged away and ran straight for him.

“Henry!”

Something dark passed by overhead and Regina looked up. She spotted the Shadow and followed its trajectory as it flew toward mother and son.

Regina dropped the compass and threw out her hands. She sent purple sparks at it and somehow, when the bolts of electricity hit it, the Shadow skidded to a stop in the air. It shook with the aftershocks of the charge that wrapped around it before the Shadow turned to face her.

The Shadow changed direction and flew straight at Regina. It swooped down in front of her and smacked its hand against her chest. A flash of purple appeared between them upon contact before Regina screamed.

Emma reached out for Henry and swatted away the blond kid's swinging arm.

“Henry, take my hand,” Emma said in a frantic rush.

Henry moved to grab Emma's hand before he could see past her. Just as Regina screamed, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped.

Emma closed the distance between her and Henry in a couple steps and yanked him toward her by his forearm. She had heard the scream, but she couldn't lose Henry. Whatever had started to happen behind her, she knew Regina would have wanted her to keep her sight set on getting Henry back.

With her other hand, she swung a right hook and punched the blond teen in the face as she hugged Henry against her stomach and chest.

The blond boy shuffled back a few feet and touched his nose as blood began to trickle down his face. He gingerly pressed his fingertips to his cheekbone and winced at even the small amount of pressure.

Emma turned back toward Regina and Charming and closed a fist around the back of Henry's shirt collar. She helped him jog alongside herself as she hurried away from the blond teen, but quickly noticed the reason for Henry's earlier scared expression.

The Shadow had started some kind of extraction from Regina as something black, though partially transparent, rose out of the brunette's chest at the command of the Shadow's hand.

Emma didn't stop running. She pulled Henry along with her to her father's side.

“Where's Mom,” Emma asked as she kept Henry in front of her and stood behind a sword wielding Charming.

“I don't know,” Charming quickly said after he jabbed at one of the other Lost Boys. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Emma breathlessly said. “Watch your right.”

Charming looked to his right and sure enough, another Lost Boy attempted to blindside him. He gave a backhanded swing and barely nicked the boy's torso.

Emma looked back over at the blond boy just in time to see him approach the group. She shook Henry's shoulder a few times.

“Come on,” she said. “I need a weapon.”

“But Grandma and Mom! We have to help them,” Henry exclaimed as Emma rushed him away from Charming.

“I know, but I can't find your grandma.”

“Mom!”

Emma immediately looked over at Regina before the brunette fell to her knees and whimpered.

“I have to get you out of here, Henry,” Emma sternly said as she looked from Regina to her son.

“No. I'm not leaving her!”

Henry started to run toward Regina.

“Henry, no!”

The Shadow looked at Henry as it continued to pull the dark thing that looked somewhat similar to itself from Regina.

“Leave my mom alone,” Henry yelled.

A second after Henry challenged the Shadow, it did just that. It closed its fist and flew up, leaving Regina behind, before it flew toward Henry.

Regina fell onto her stomach with a cry of pain as her own shadow slammed back into her body. She rolled over and looked back at Henry. She saw Emma run straight for him, but the Shadow seemed to fly faster than the blonde's feet could carry her. Regina struggled to stand, but did it with a large burst of pain in a few seconds.

“Henry,” she cried out and reached toward him though they were more than a few feet apart.

Just as the Shadow angled itself downward to speed up its flight toward Henry, Emma lunged forward and tackled the boy to the ground in a protective hold. When they landed in the dirt and the Shadow reached out to grab them, a golden bubble shot out around them and sent the Shadow flying backward in the air.

Regina stared in astonishment at Emma as she held Henry close while they remained on the ground under the golden shield. She only broke her gaze when she heard a rustling in the trees and saw the Shadow bounce through the branches of a few of them before it flew up further and disappeared. She turned her attention back to Henry and Emma and moved toward them.

Emma propped herself on an elbow as she slowly started to sit up.

“Henry? You okay,” she asked as she sat up completely and rolled him onto his back.

Henry groaned, his face contorted to express the pain he felt.

Emma immediately tensed at the sight and pressed a hand to his chest.

“Henry! What's wrong,” she asked.

“I think my ribs landed on your arm,” he grumbled as he rested a hand on his right side.

“Sorry. I'm sorry,” she quickly apologized. “Are you gonna be okay?”

Henry swallowed and sighed before he nodded and blearily opened his eyes.

“Emma,” Regina said as she stopped in front of the protective barrier the blonde still had in place. “You're safe.”

Regina slowly brought her hand out to the wall of the shield and felt the magic.

Emma looked over at Regina and in that moment realized what she'd done.

“I protected us,” Emma said more to herself, but stared right at Regina.

“Yes,” Regina nodded. “But you have to take it down now. You're safe.”

“Yeah, for now,” Emma said and to Regina she sounded like a frightened child.

“What about Grandma and Gramps,” Henry asked then pleaded. “They need help.”

Emma looked from Henry to Charming as he continued to fight the Lost Boys by himself. Then she turned to see her mother start to stir and kick at Greg and Tamara as they dragged her toward the edge of the woods. She turned to Regina with worry in her eyes.

“How do I take it down,” Emma asked.

“It's like letting your walls down. You just have to relax. You have to _trust enough_ that you're safe.”

Henry looked back and forth between his mothers. He opened his mouth to speak, but when he looked up at Regina he saw something in her eyes as she stared at Emma and only Emma. He had no idea what it was he saw, but it was enough to keep him silent.

After a few seconds, however, when Emma still hadn't done anything to lower the shield, he looked from Regina to Emma and barreled into his blonde mother's front. He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed tight.

“I'm okay, Mom,” he said into Emma's shoulder. “We can go home now. I'm okay.”

Tears almost tumbled down Emma's cheeks at Henry's words. Instead, she smiled with watery eyes and wrapped both her arms around him to return the hug.

The shield came down and Emma kissed the top of his head.

Regina pitched forward and hugged them both before she too kissed the top of Henry's head.

“We have to go,” Regina said as she started to pull away from the embrace.

“Right,” Emma said as they all stood. “We have people to save.”

 


	9. Chapter 9

Emma and Regina hurried toward Charming with Henry protectively placed between them as they moved.

“Remember what I taught you about conjuring,” Regina asked Emma as they briskly headed toward Charming.

“You've been teaching Emma magic,” Henry asked as he looked up at both Emma and Regina.

“Yeah,” Emma ignored Henry and looked solely at Regina.

“Yes, Henry. We can talk about it later,” Regina answered before she looked at Emma and continued. “Can you at least handle a baseball bat? You wanted a weapon and that's the only thing I think might help right now.”

“What about a gun?! Those are the Lost Boys, right? They're human and humans can be hurt and killed with bullets.”

Regina didn't respond with anything more than a contemplative look and a huffed out sigh.

“It'll be faster if you conjure one for me,” Emma said.

“If I give you a gun, you'll run out of bullets.”

“I can conjure more, right?”

“ _Can_ you?”

“Just let me have my gun,” Emma seriously said with a hint of frustration.

Regina rolled her eyes.

Hook lashed out any and all aggression he could at some of the Lost Boys with his sword. He stood a few feet away in a heavy sparing match with one of the Boys. When he gained the upper hand after he noticed wild blond hair in his peripheral vision, Hook looked over his shoulder and called out to her.

“Emma!”

She instinctively placed a protective hand on Henry's shoulder and looked in the pirate's direction.

“Here,” Hook said as he reached down and pulled a second sword from the belt of his outfit. “Take this.”

He held the hilt of the sword in his hook and tossed it at Emma as best he could. The sword fell short, but Emma let go of Henry and stepped forward to swipe it up from the dirt covered ground.

“It was Baelfire's. I think you could use it,” Hook briefly explained.

Emma knitted her brow and stared at him with a quizzical expression that begged for a little more story behind why and how he had Neal's sword, but a Lost Boy ran at her with his own raised sword.

Regina saw the boy and yanked Henry away from the fight. She wrapped her arms around his chest and pulled his back almost flush against her stomach and chest.

Emma hadn't questioned Hook like she wanted to and instead, she swung Neal's sword at the Lost Boy without thinking. Instinct took over once again and even though she wasn't extremely skilled with a sword, she did what she had to so she could protect herself in that moment. And above all else, to ultimately protect Henry.

Regina and Henry stared at Emma as she fought, though they both knew they should have joined the fight instead of gawked.

Henry internally praised the way Emma moved. She struggled to keep the sword from slipping out of her grasp after each swing, but the rest of her body moved almost majestically to support her sword wielding arm.

Regina gazed a little too openly at Emma with more focus on her legs and arms.

Emma's biceps rippled and tensed between and during each separate swoop, swipe, and jab of the sword. Her thighs displayed tone definition through tight denim whenever she turned her body to strike.

Regina hadn't, maybe even couldn't have _,_ taken her eyes off the tough blonde. If she'd had more time, she would have thought about how truly amazing Emma was. But she didn't have more than a few moments so she pulled herself out of it to return to the trouble at hand.

Emma's head snapped to the side and she stumbled back a few feet before she charged at the teen boy with more force.

During Emma's recovery time, Regina tightened her hold on Henry. With him so close to her, she realized she had to find a way to keep Henry safe and away from whoever it was that wanted him – whoever it was Rumple insisted they should all fear.

“Come on, Henry,” Regina said in his ear as she pulled him even further away from the group.

“What about Emma,” Henry asked.

“She's fine. It's _you_ we have to worry about,” Regina said as she continued to usher him toward the shore where they had anchored the Jolly Roger.

“I didn't let her leave _you_. I'm not going to let _you_ leave _her_.”

“Henry, we need to get you away from all this,” Regina started as she picked up her pace. “I can't watch you _and_ fight alongside the others. Neither could Emma.”

“Then allow me, dearie.”

Regina scrambled to a stop, startled by the man she had least expected to see in the middle of the battle.

“Absolutely not,” Regina shook her head and shot the imp a fiery glare.

“It appears you have no other choice,” Rumple said with a small flourish of his hands.

His eyes knowingly shifted to Emma, Hook, and Charming with a suppressed yet still noticeable grin.

Regina curiously followed his gaze in time to see Hook breaking an immense sweat, Charming getting clocked in the jaw, and Emma being thrown onto the ground.

A one-handed pirate, a beaten up hero, and a trapped Savior. All were being surrounded by more boys.

It didn't look good.

Regina sighed in defeat and pulled Henry to her again as she looked back at Rumple.

“Fine. You take him back to the ship and _don't_ let him out of your sight,” Regina warned with a pointed finger directed at Rumple's chest.

“Yes, yes, he's very important to you. I understand,” Rumple dismissed Regina's commanding tone. “He's my grandson after all. Do you really believe I'd let anything happen to him?”

Regina opened her mouth to answer his rhetorical question, but he cut off her and looked down at eleven year old.

“Come along, Henry.”

Regina begrudgingly let go of Henry, but something hit her hard in the pit of her stomach the moment her hand left his body, something unsettling. She stared after him for a few more seconds as he walked beside Rumple toward the ship beyond the trees in the far off distance. She tried to tamp down the gut-wrenching feeling and turned away from Henry to rejoin the fight. She took a deep breath and allowed herself to feel angry, to feel what easily got her magic to flow through her.

She created a fireball in the palm of her hand and sent it toward one of the trees a Lost Boy stood under as he slowly approached the fighting trio. It set the tree ablaze, but it took five more fireballs consecutively sent at the same spot before the branch she aimed for fell. It fell slow enough that the boy had moved out of the way before it could hit him.

That fact disappointed Regina, but she knew she should have expected it. Part of her had, but she still felt disappointed all the same. She shook it off though when she glanced around at the three people unable to defend themselves with magic. She conjured more fireballs and threw them out at the surrounding trees two at a time.

Rumple limped toward the ship, true to his word.

But when he saw Greg and Tamara still trying to get away – with Snow White in their grasp of all things – he couldn't deny his vengeance any longer. He guided Henry toward the couple and focused an angry, intent glare at Tamara.

“Wh-Where are we going,” Henry asked with a nervous stutter.

“Helping your grandmother,” Rumple answered before the two of them stopped in front of Greg and Tamara. “And just where do you think you're going.”

It was a statement and directed more at Tamara than Greg.

Henry looked between Rumple and the couple. He tensed and feared the worst.

“Getting what we came for,” Greg replied.

“By taking her,” Rumple asked and pointed to a kicking and growling Snow White.

“We figured since we didn't have Henry, splitting up the family and getting some leverage would help get us what we want,” Greg answered.

Rumple seemed to have distracted the pair just long enough to give Snow the chance to elbow both Greg and Tamara. She wrangled herself free from them, but cringed as she reached out for Henry. It hadn't kept her from doing it though.

“Henry, are you okay,” Snow asked with a great deal of concern as she ran her hands down either of Henry's arms.

He nodded.

Then, without warning, the Shadow shot down and sliced itself through Greg's body.

Everyone except Rumpelstiltskin gasped in horror and watched Greg's shadow get ripped from his body in a flash.

The Shadow pulled Greg's shadow along with it and disappeared.

Tamara started to whimper in short, panted breaths as though she was about to cry.

Henry trembled in fear.

Rumple didn't even get to start in on Tamara about her wrong doings before a cocky voice spoke up from behind a few bushes in front of him.

“She wouldn't have helped,” came an accented voice as a young blond boy appeared with a sinister grin plastered on his face. “You let him escape.”

Tamara's breathing was shallow at that point. She hadn't believed what she'd seen. The man she'd loved and had agreed to marry laid completely still, eyes closed, face down in the dirt before her.

“It wasn't our fault,” Tamara slowly, cautiously started to explain. “Your...boys or whatever, were there too. They were closer to him than we were. Please, just...let us go home. We did as you asked. You can destroy magic here with him now that you have Henry back, right?”

“Oh, you're not going home,” the boy smugly replied. “And who said I wanted to destroy magic?”

Tamara stood speechless with wide eyes while Henry and Rumple just watched the scene unfold.

“You've done all I needed you to. You actually proved to be _less_ useful than I imagined after you brought the boy to Neverland.”

Those were the last words Tamara heard before an arrow shot through the air and struck into her chest.

Snow started to pull Henry away from the scene with a fist clenched around the back of his coat, but the marksman who shot the arrow appeared beside the shorter sandy blond boy.

“I wouldn't be in a rush,” the boy held out a halting hand and kept his eyes on Snow until she stopped at his request.

When she stopped, his gaze slid to his left and he locked eyes with the Dark One.

“I didn't expect you to come back,” the boy said he took a few tentative steps toward Rumple.

“Neither did I,” Rumple responded with a hint of a smirk, though not enough to make anyone believe he was pleased with the situation.

“Stay as long as you'd like,” the boy shrugged. “But...your presence in my land comes at price. How you respond to the deal I'm about to make you will determine whether you and I are still enemies.”

“Of course...Peter,” Rumple disdainfully growled out his name.

“Y- _you're_ Peter Pan,” Henry asked in shock. “I thought you might be another Lost Boy.”

The boy chuckled under his breath and flashed an evil grin.

“I am,” he answered before he focused on Rumple again. “I'll spare your life... _if_ you give me the boy.”

Snow pulled Henry closer to her just as Emma and Regina had earlier.

“You will _not_ take my grandson,” Snow growled as she tried to muster up all the strength she had to keep Henry safe even though she was terrified.

The boy snickered as he looked between Rumple and Snow. His eyes landed on Rumple and settled there to wait for the Dark One's reply after a few glances.

Rumple looked over his shoulder, his body slightly turned to take in Henry's frightened appearance. He stood like that for a long moment before he sighed and made a decision.

“Fine,” Rumple callously, casually, shrugged like Henry meant nothing to him.

“What,” Henry exclaimed his question with a scared and incredulous tone.

“No,” Snow boldly argued as she stepped in front of Henry.

Rumple dismissively waved a hand and Snow disappeared in a cloud of red smoke.

“Grandma!”

Henry's eyes widened like a deer caught in headlights as he looked from the place Snow once stood to Rumple and Peter. He shook his head in disbelief that he would so effortlessly be traded.

“If you can guarantee I live,” Rumple said. “The boy is yours.”

“You want me to sign a contract,” Peter asked with a raised eyebrow.

“It's the only way I can guarantee I get what I want.”

Henry took the conversation between the two as his way out. He bolted from the area before he could remember the Lost Boy with a bow and arrow.

After he jumped through a set of bushes, he felt a sharp pain shoot through his calve. He stumbled onto his knee with a yelp followed by a hiss. His heart raced when he attempted to stand, but the moment he got to his feet, he no longer felt the ground beneath him.

A swirl of red smoke filled his vision as he felt a pair of hands startlingly grab him from behind.

And then he was gone.

Snow reappeared in another cloud of red smoke behind Charming before her husband lifted his sword above his head and jumped away from a Lost Boy.

Charming collided with something and clumsily fell backward. He landed on whatever caused his descent to the ground and heard a familiar groan.

Before Charming could investigate, he defensively raised his sword to counter the boy's unrelenting attack. He violently shifted from side to side as he tried to avoid the boy's sword until he managed to roll off what he'd fallen on.

His focus remained on the boy as he took a stab at the teen. His first attempt failed, but he finally drew blood by faking left then spinning around before he swiped his sword across the boy's torso.

The boy bent partially at the waist before Charming successfully ran his sword straight through the twisted teen.

“Charming,” Snow weakly called out in a broken voice from the ground.

When Charming pulled his sword out of the Lost Boy, he turned at the sound of his name. For the first time, he realized what he'd quite literally stumbled upon only moments ago.

“Snow,” Charming immediately got down on his knees beside her, his voice laced with an abundance of concern.

Charming brushed some of Snow's hair off her forehead and felt the wetness underneath the pad of his thumb as well as an unusual warmth and frowned.

“Snow, what happened? What's wrong?

Snow tried to breathe, her breath shallow and words hard to form, before she eventually spoke.

“Arrow,” Snow quietly said and looked to her left shoulder.

Charming looked at her shoulder and suddenly saw the blood as well as a broken off arrow tip that had been embedded in his wife's pale skin.

“No,” Charming breathed out, sad and panicked. “It's okay. You'll make it.”

“Henry. Rum- Rumpelstiltskin,” Snow tried to warn him.

“Rumpelstiltskin...has Henry?”

Snow nodded.

“Made a de-deal...with...Pan.”

“What kind of deal?”

“A trade.”

Charming's eyes widened.

“He gave Henry to Pan?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, uh, I'm going to get you out of here.”

Snow shook her head.

“Get Henry,” she said.

Charming took Snow's hand and squeezed. He looked at her with so much love and both knew from his tear-filled expression he didn't want to leave her. He tore his eyes away from Snow and scanned the area.

Hook, Emma, and Regina were all occupied by one Lost Boy or another. Regina even managed to face off against two at one time, though her magic allotted her an easy win.

“Regina,” Charming loudly started to call out to her, though he went unheard. “Regina!”

Regina waved her hands and swept both Lost Boys off the ground. She bound them both to the high half of a tree and instantly tightened the grip of the vines.

The boys squirmed beneath the crushing vines until she shocked them with a strong dose of electricity. They convulsed for a few seconds before they went limp when Regina relented.

Regina kept them pressed roughly to the tree before she decided to end things. With a good sense of finality, she made the boys arrows float before she hurled several straight at them. A couple of them pierced each boys' arms, but she landed two kill shots in both boys with ease. One to the heart, the other to a vital organ. She left them bound to the tree to bleed out before she turned and saw Charming's distress.

“Regina! Regina, you have to help,” Charming yelled, pleading her to come to him.

She surprisingly looked as concerned as Charming had when he first spotted Snow in her newly injured state. She looked over to see Emma oblivious and bleeding while still at war with a Lost Boy. Trickling red streaks marred her pale face and stuck to wisps of blonde hair.

Regina took her eyes off Emma as she approached the fallen couple, Snow and Charming. She sank to her knees on the other side of Snow opposite Charming and touched the woman's uninjured shoulder. She looked over her former stepdaughter from head to toe, but her eyes didn't make it past her collarbone. She quickly noticed the problem and snapped her eyes up to meet Charming's worried gaze.

“She needs healing,” Regina plainly stated, her voice tinged with a small amount of sympathy.

“Yes, but...there's something else,” Charming warily said.

“We don't have time to waste. Out with it,” she demanded, though not in her usual commanding Queen voice.

“Rumple took Henry.”

“I know. I gave him to Rumple so he would take Henry back to the ship,” Regina explained with an apprehensive expression.

“He didn't take Henry to the ship,” was all Charming stated and shook his head.

“If that's true then where... Where is my son,” Regina growled, but both she and Charming heard her fear and self-loathing.

Charming explained in a few words, terse and contrite. His tone, however, did not help calm Regina. Though in all honesty, he never expected it too.

Regina vehemently shook her head.

“I'll kill him! Where's Rumple?”

Snow pointed to the area off to the side where they once were and Regina pushed herself onto her feet, the fastest she'd ever moved in her life and gracelessly unlike the chin-held-high Queen she once had been.

Charming just as quickly shot out a hand and gripped Regina's wrist to stop her from leaving.

“Please,” he begged. “I'll do my best to find him if you stay and heal her.”

Regina heavily sighed and nodded. When Charming let go of her wrist, she lowered herself down onto her knees again.

Charming stood when she knelt down and the two had changed positions.

“Thank you,” Charming said before his eyes went from Regina to Snow.

“Just bring him back to me,” Regina sadly said, her eyes trained on Charming. “And...be careful.”

Charming looked back at Regina with confusion, but he hadn't stayed much longer to ask why she had said such a thing to him. Instead, he jogged off to find Henry.

Regina turned her attention to Snow and sympathetically winced before she started to explain.

“I may be able to use magic for this, but I still need to take out the arrow. It won't be pleasant,” Regina warned.

“Okay,” Snow breathlessly replied.

“Ready?”

Snow nodded and rapidly blinked as she did.

Regina moved her hand to hover over the wound and slowly started to lift the arrow from Snow. A faint purple light glowed between her hand and Snow's shoulder. With a subtle, slow, and graceful wave of Regina's hand, the arrow extraction went a little faster.

Snow's eyes widened before she squeezed them shut and gritted her teeth. She began to squirm as Regina pulled out the broken end of the arrow half an inch. Just before the arrow head started to rip at the surface of her skin, the arrow almost but still a bit of way from being completely removed, she groaned.

Regina watched Snow writhe in the dirt and managed to show sympathy, but didn't wince or cringe. She listened to Snow's pain as the younger woman's groan turned into rough, drawn out yell.

Emma kicked the Lost Boy that dared fight her in the stomach and knocked him flat on his ass. She hurried to place her booted foot on his chest to hold him down then raised Neal's sword above her head in front of her with both hands, ready to plunge down into the boy. She stopped mid-plummet when she heard Snow yell. She looked away from the boy to see Regina using magic on Snow. She saw something being pulled from her mother, but she couldn't tell what she really saw from her distance.

A hollow knock echoed through the jungle and the boy grabbed Emma by the ankle and threw the distracted blonde off of himself. He scrambled to his feet when Emma faltered and landed on her tailbone on the ground a couple feet away from where she had pinned down the boy. He took off into the depths of the island jungle, which noticeably confused Emma, but she heard Snow cry out and chose to let the boy go.

Regina tried to pull the arrow out faster, but it only hurt Snow more.

Snow cried out and shockingly grabbed Regina's free hand. She tightly squeezed it and dug her nails into the back of the other woman's hand.

“Mom,” Emma exclaimed as she ran over to Snow and Regina.

“I'm going to do this like ripping off a band-aid, okay,” Regina asked to ensure Snow accepted her plans. 

“Okay,” Snow agreed a tight, strained voice.

Just as Emma fell to her knees on the side of her mother where Charming once knelt, Regina rapidly yanked the arrow out of Snow and sent it flying across the island.

Snow screamed and curled inward as she turned toward her daughter and clawed at Regina's hand.

Regina squeezed Snow's hand and rested her other hand, the one she'd used to remove the arrow, on Snow's stomach. She held her down on her back to limit her movement.

“Lay still,” Regina said.

“Mom,” Emma breathed out with a sad expression and reached down for her mother's unoccupied hand.

Mother and daughter held hands, but Snow refused to let go of Regina's. In fact, she used the former Queen's hand to fight through her pain while she refrained from hurting Emma and delicately held the blonde's hand.

Emma hadn't noticed that small detail, but Regina did. She looked from Snow to the object of her sole attention: Emma. She took in Emma's bloodied face and frowned.

“You're okay, right,” Emma asked Snow.

Snow faintly smiled at her.

“Yes, honey. I still need healing, but I'll be fine,” Snow answered.

Regina slowly reached out, her hand tantalizingly close to Emma's face, when the blonde looked to Regina.

Emma pulled away before Regina could touch her.

“I can heal you,” Regina said.

“I know,” Emma quickly said as she looked down at the ground.

“Then let me-”

“It's fine. I'm fine. I don't need healing. _She_ does,” Emma said and motioned to her mother.

Regina sadly stared at Emma when Hook grunted and came toward them looking fairly beaten himself, though his injuries seemed to be anywhere but his face.

All three women looked over at Hook before he cleared his throat and spoke.

“The Lost Boys seemed to have fled. If I remember correctly, that knocking sound is Pan's call.”

Then there was a rustling behind them and someone emerged from the brush.

“Dad,” Emma frowned as she took in his appearance.

Charming coughed with a hand pressed to his side under his right arm.

“Henry's gone,” he announced on his way to the group. “Rumple too.”

“What,” Emma loudly asked, confused and angered.

“And what of Pan,” Regina asked with concern etched deeply on her face.

“He was there. One of the Lost Boys was with him and took a shot at me. Grazed my side,” he lifted his arm slightly and dropped his hand to reveal the wound he spoke of. “Pan knocked on a tree and told the boy to help him find Rumpelstiltskin. From the sound of it, I think Rumple took Henry and ran.”

“So long as he doesn't give Henry to Pan, he better have taken him,” Regina growled.

“Wait, you knew about this,” Emma asked as she turned all her heated attention on Regina.

Regina turned to Emma.

“I couldn't keep him with me while I fought,” she explained.

“I'd hate to interrupt another family feud,” Hook sarcastically cut in. “But may we discuss this some other time? Pan's still out there and so is his shadow. We need to find a safe haven and I'm not sure my ship counts as such any more.”

“Hook's right,” Charming conceded with the pirate.

“Well, where the hell else can we go,” Emma exasperatedly asked.

Seemingly in response to Emma's question, a twinkling gold light fluttered around Regina. It flew past Regina's nose and caused the brunette to scrunch up her face and sneeze.

When she sneezed, Regina let go of Snow's hand then used it to shoo the light away.

“Damn you,” Regina cursed the light.

The light giggled then drifted a few feet beside Emma. The light flickered a few times before the tiny ball of yellow grew into an average sized blonde woman in a short green dress lined with golden swirled accents.

Everyone stared at her. Hook and Regina seemed unaffected by the metamorphosis, but Snow, Charming, and Emma were shocked.

“Must you do that, Tink,” Regina asked with eyes darkened by mild and nonthreatening anger.

She giggled again.

“Only when you look distraught or upset,” Tink shrugged.

“Tink,” Emma asked as she slowly started to form a conclusion. “As in _Tinkerbell_?”

“Yes, dear,” Regina answered as she looked at Emma. “We're in Neverland and you didn't think she exists?”

Tinkerbell curiously tilted her head to take in the way Regina looked at the other blonde. She pouted and took a single step toward Regina, prevented by Snow's body on the ground from taking any more than that.

“Pan will hurt you,” Tinkerbell gravely warned Regina. “Come with me to the caves. It's the one place on the island he can't get to thanks to you.”

Snow groaned and scrunched up her face in pain.

“Take me anywhere just as long as someone heals me,” Snow said.

Regina snapped to attention as if just remembering Snow still needed aid. She waved her hand over Snow's injury and a cloth appeared. She looked at Emma then.

“Keep pressure on that. I can't heal her here. We need to move her somewhere we can prevent infection. I also need to see how deep the wound is,” Regina instructed her.

“So you'll come to the caves,” Tinkerbell hopefully asked with a smile.

“It's our best chance at surviving until we can find Henry again,” Regina said. “So yes.”

“Henry,” Tinkerbell asked with a frown.

“My son,” Emma reflexively answered as she and Charming helped Snow to her feet.

Tinkerbell looked at Regina while the former Queen kept her focus on Emma to correct the woman.

“ _Our_ son.”

Tinkerbell crossed her arms over her chest and huffed.

“You two share a son,” she asked Regina, though it sounded more like a statement.

“I'll explain once we get to the caves,” Regina said after she looked over Tinkerbell's less than pleased expression.

Tinkerbell hesitated as she glared at Regina for a moment longer. Finally, she uncrossed her arms and started to lead the group toward the caves in her full height.

“Wait,” Emma piped up after several steps and stunted their forward momentum. “Where's Jack?”

Everyone except Tinkerbell looked around only to see they were the only ones there.

“Better yet,” Hook asked after they all came to notice Jack's absence and looked Regina up and down several times. “Where's his compass?”

“Are you talking about that pirate with the hat,” Tinkerbell asked.

Regina didn't hesitate to look at Tinkerbell.

“Do you know where he is,” Regina asked the pixie.

“He ran into me on my way to find you,” Tinkerbell started to explain. “He seemed frightened by me and tried to run away, but I got him to tell me where you were. I asked him why he was here and when he told me he wanted to get home, I sent him on his way with a solution.”

“You let him _go_ ,” Regina furiously asked.

Tinkerbell flinched at Regina's raised voice.

“Did you need him?”

“We were using his compass to find Henry,” Regina yelled.

“Whoa, hey. Relax, alright,” Emma tried to calm Regina. “So what if he got away? His compass didn't seem to help anyway. You came to _me_ instead of Henry.”

Snow's eyes widened as she looked at Regina, more pieces of the puzzle completed for her.

Regina gulped, but quickly tried to mask her embarrassment and nervousness about her feelings being discovered, especially before she herself had time to process them.

“He shouldn't have left us so selfishly,” Regina redirected the attention of Emma's claim onto the missing pirate.

“We are talking about a man who's spent most of his life at sea, no one to care for but himself,” Hook said. “Did you really expect him to care about how we get out of here?”

“Whatever,” Emma shook them all off. “He's gone now and we have more important things to worry about than some stupid compass.”

“Yes,” Snow spoke up as she kept her eyes on Regina.

Regina looked at Snow and saw the curiosity in the woman's eyes.

“We should get to the caves and figure out how we're going to get Henry back,” Snow continued with her eyes still on Regina.

Regina knew by the stare down Snow involved her in that the other woman knew something. She kept her expression as neutral as she could and nodded.

“Right. So...Tinkerbell,” Emma addressed the pixie, her unease completely obvious to everyone about being in Neverland with an evil Peter Pan and his demented Lost Boys and a hot-headed Tinkerbell. “Take us to the caves.”

*** * ***

Red smoke cleared and Henry lurched forward onto his knees in the dirt. He grunted when he landed and rolled onto his backside in a sitting position. He hissed and contorted his face in pain as he reached down but didn't touch the arrow in his calve.

“Easy, Henry,” a familiar and thickly accented voice warned with a somewhat fatherly concern. “I'll heal you, but you'll need to stay still and it _will_ hurt.”

“Get away from me,” Henry growled and glared at Rumple. “You were going to give me to Peter Pan!”

“But I didn't,” Rumple raised his index finger like his point carried good weight in his defense.

“Only because I got away.”

“On the contrary, dear boy. I'd hoped you would run. In fact, I had counted on it. I just needed to make it seem as though I was on his side so we could get away. This is good.”

“How is us being no the lam _good_?”

“Because Pan doesn't expect me to keep you safe. He expects me to hand you over, not to hide you away in the one part of the island he can't touch.”

“But...isn't this _his_ island? How come he can't get here?”

“Your mother made an alliance with a particular pixie years ago.”

“Regina became friends with a pixie?”

Rumple nodded as he knelt beside Henry and turned him onto his side to inspect the arrow's damage.

“Wait, pixie like...fairies?”

Rumple nodded again.

“Particular,” Henry slowly repeated the word as he tried to figure out the story for himself. “You mean Tinkerbell?”

“That very one.”

Rumple started to gently squeeze Henry's calve around the arrow.

Henry jerked and yelped when Rumple's fingers put pressure on the areas too close to the wound.

“Just listen to the story about your mother and Tinkerbell,” Rumple said. “Focus on that and this shouldn't be too painful.”

Henry took several shallow breaths before he said, “Okay.”

“Tinkerbell visited the Enchanted Forest before Regina married the King. Regina was suspicious about her, but listened to her problems anyway.”

As Rumple told the story, he did what Regina had done to remove the arrow from Snow except he chose not to use magic. Another difference between Rumple and Regina's actions was that Henry squirmed and cried much more than Snow had. Though that may have had something to do with the age difference and the fact that Henry had never felt a pain such as that caused by an arrow buried in his leg.

“Tinkerbell needed protection from Peter Pan because his shadow had split from him and he'd started to deny the Lost Boys a chance to go home when they started to miss their families.”

Rumple gave a good tug to the arrow and Henry mewled as Rumple ripped the weapon out of his calve. The man may have had a dark heart, but Rumple soothingly rubbed Henry's back and brushed light brown hair away his forehead.

“The hard part's over,” Rumple said in tone as warm and comforting as hot cocoa on a cold day.

Henry tried to slow his breathing and regulate the rushed beating of his heart as he cried and sniffled.

“Regina offered her services and used a protection spell – with my help of course – that shielded the island caves from those with ill-intent. Though I'm not sure what your mother got out of it, I retrieved one of her tears for my assistance.”

With some time, Henry calmed down, but his calve burned and bled.

Rumple conjured a cloth and dabbed at the wound before he figured out the extent of the damage.

“So...we're in the caves,” Henry asked before he felt a warmth where his pain resonated.

“No, but the caves aren't the only thing protected by her spell. There's a good portion of land surrounding the caves. _That's_ where we are.”

Rumple held his hand over the wound and began to repair torn tissue and tender muscles.

“For now, we're safe,” Rumple told him. “So long as we don't step outside the boundary of the spell or Peter Pan doesn't find a way to break it, we need not worry.”

Henry took deep breaths and tiredly laid his head down on the ground. He closed his eyes and drifted until the shock from his previous pain overwhelmed him and he blacked out.

*** * ***

Snow laid in one of two beds in Tinkerbell's lightly furnished cabin hidden behind several trees near the caves with only the blood on her clothes as evidence she'd ever been attacked.

Charming sat beside the cot she rested in with their hands joined and fingers laced.

Emma, Tinkerbell, and Regina stood close by in the middle of a discussion about Regina's cliff notes version of her and Emma's history.

“Henry is _your_ son, but she gave birth to him,” Tinkerbell asked as she pointed at Regina then Emma, her eyes never leaving Regina's. 

“Yes, but-” Regina started only to be cut off by Emma.

“I'm not just the woman who gave birth to him,” Emma corrected Tinkerbell with a voice that dripped with venom. “I'm his mother too.”

“Ten years is a long time to be out of the picture, especially the _first_ ten years of his life,” Tinkerbell spat with her arms crossed over her chest, the most defiant she'd even been.

“Pretty sure that's better than being the worse mother in the world for those ten years. Better than keeping him when I couldn't even take care of myself at the time,” Emma continued to argue.

“ _Regina_ is his mother.”

Emma stepped closer to Tinkerbell and growled from the back of her throat with a death glare trained on the human sized pixie.

“We _both_ are. I've been here for him, _fighting_ for him for about two years now.”

“Two, eleven,” Tinkerbell held out her hands like a scale and pretended to weight the different numbers.

Emma shot her arms out and grabbed Tinkerbell's arms. She shoved the other blonde backward and moved forward to follow the pixie's trajectory, but Regina stepped in front of her and blocked her with an arm to her chest.

“Enough,” Regina exclaimed and looked at Emma then turned to Tinkerbell. “Are you alright?”

Tinkerbell shot a fiery look at Emma then softened when her eyes found Regina's and nodded.

Emma suspiciously narrowed her eyes at Tinkerbell for her bipolar behavior, but she knew the mood changes had nothing to do with her mental stability.

“Wow, they really had you down to a T in the Peter Pan movie, didn't they,” Emma rhetorically asked as she started to talk her way toward an answer to a question she had only internally asked herself. “Bitchy, nosy...and insanely _jealous_.”

Emma's eyes widened in epiphany when she said “jealous.” Then a huge smile spread widely across her face and she couldn't control her laughter.

“Oh, okay. I get it,” Emma laughed and grabbed Regina's arm.

Tinkerbell's eyes immediately fell onto Emma's hold on Regina and watched the other blonde lower Regina's arm away from her chest.

Emma dropped Regina's arm at the brunette's side and grinned when she saw Tinkerbell's focus on her hand the entire time. Tinkerbell didn't look up until Emma released Regina's arm and Emma slowly nodded at the pixie with her ever present grin.

“It's been a long day,” Regina interrupted whatever had started to transpire between Emma and Tinkerbell. “We need to find Henry...again. And it would help to have a way home when we do.”

“I can help get you home,” Tinkerbell offered. “You wish to return to the Enchanted Forest?”

“No, I don't live there anymore,” Regina answered.

“Since when?”

Regina flashed a nervous smile, unsure of how Tinkerbell would take her answer.

“Twenty-eight years?”

She said it like a question even though she knew it to be the truth, but she didn't know if Tinkerbell would accept the truth.

“Oh, it's been much too long, Regina,” Tinkerbell said as she walked up to the brunette and took one of her hands in her own.

Regina nodded and slipped her hand out of Tinkerbell's. She closed her fist as she pulled her hand away from Tinkerbell and crossed her arms over her chest, that hand hidden under her other arm.

“Why don't you live there anymore,” Tinkerbell asked as she sadly looked down at the hand Regina took away from her before she looked into Regina's eyes again.

“I cast a curse. I wasn't happy and I wanted Snow White to suffer.”

“But...” Tinkerbell turned to look at Snow White, confused, then looked at Regina. “You healed her.”

“I did.”

“You hate her. Why would you heal her?”

Regina opened and closed her mouth several times, but never once voiced an answer.

Emma quizzically looked at Regina then stepped up to stand by her side.

“Yeah, why did you heal my mom?”

“You- You're Snow White's _daughter_ ,” Tinkerbell asked with obvious surprise.

“Yeah,” Emma coolly answered.

“You share a son with your enemy's daughter,” Tinkerbell asked Regina with a bit of hurt in her voice.

“It's not like I _chose_ to do so,” Regina said.

“Actually, you kind of did,” Emma spoke up. “You could decide not to share him and then we'd go back to the arrangement we have in Storybrooke right now.”

“I will not let you keep him from me,” Regina snapped.

“That's what I thought. See, that's the choice you made. You know not having Henry around is much worse than having to put up with me.”

“Some choice,” Regina rolled her eyes.

“Lesser of two evils,” Emma supplied with a shrug.

“Fancy place you have,” Hook said as he emerged from the cabin entrance. “Where's a Captain to sleep though? I see only two beds and there are six of us.”

“You need somewhere to sleep,” Emma asked, her tone unamused and somewhat frustrated with his interruption. “Pick a spot on the ground and make friends with it.”

“You can have my cot,” Tinkerbell quietly said to Regina.

“The ground is fine,” Regina smiled. “But thank you.”

“I think the Savior should get a cot,” Hook smirked as he responded to what he overheard between Tinkerbell and Regina.

“Who is the Savior,” Tinkerbell asked.

Emma raised her hand like a child in class.

“That would be me, but I know not to ask for luxury,” Emma said. “The ground is fine.”

“What makes you a savior?”

“She broke the Queen's curse,” Hook explained to her as though Tinkerbell should have known that already.

Hook walked closer to Emma.

“How did she break your curse,” Tinkerbell asked Regina.

“Henry,” Emma sadly said, lost in her thoughts by the concentrated look on her face.

Hook faltered in his movement and dropped his teasing attitude for a brief moment before he decided to continue.

“Would you like me to pick a spot on the ground close to you,” Hook suggestively raised an eyebrow.

Emma held out her arm and pushed her hand against Hook's chest to keep him from getting too close to her.

“No, thank you,” Emma replied with a serious tone to match her stern expression.

She moved past him and looked down at her parents as she approached them.

“You guys okay,” she asked.

Charming and Snow smiled up at her and nodded.

“I'm just a little tired,” Snow answered. “Some rest would be nice.”

Emma smiled.

“I think I'm gonna get some air,” Emma said as she hitched her thumb toward the cabin entrance.

“Are _you_ okay,” Charming frowned and got to his feet, concerned.

Charming touched Emma's arm and looked closely at her as she nodded with a smaller smile than before.

“Yeah, I'm just restless.”

“We'll find him, Emma,” Charming said as he refused to lose eye contact with her.

“We found him before, didn't we,” Emma forced her smile to widen. “I know we'll find him again.”

“You shouldn't be alone right now,” Charming said and started to rub Emma's arm.

“That's exactly what I should be right now.”

“You've been through a lot,” Snow spoke up. “Just lay down and-”

Emma shook her head.

“I'll be right outside. I'm twenty-eight, not five. Remember?”

“Twenty-eight,” Tinkerbell asked no one in particular. “You enacted the curse when she was born.”

“Yes,” Regina quietly admitted.

“I'll only be out there for a little while,” Emma said.

“Fine,” Charming reluctantly said. “But take this with you.”

He bent down and grabbed his sword from the ground beside Snow's cot then stood up and handed it to his daughter.

“Okay,” Emma said as she took the sword.

Emma stepped forward toward the cabin entrance and tried to get around Charming, but he only moved to impede her.

Charming placed a hand on the back of Emma's neck and pulled her closer. He kissed the top of her head where her forehead met her hairline. Only after he kissed her did he let her go.

Emma didn't look at anyone else as she walked toward the entrance and squeezed the sword the closer she got to the front door.

Snow scooted over to allow Charming room on the cot just barely big enough for two people. When he joined her, she wedged herself snugly between the wall and her husband.

Hook looked around until his eyes focused on a place against the far wall and shrugged to himself. He walked over to it and braced himself on the wall as he lowered himself onto the ground.

Tinkerbell wordlessly took Regina's hand and led the brunette into another room. She let go of Regina's hand and turned to the door frame that split the main area from the smaller room she had taken Regina to. She grabbed an end of a blanket nailed to the wall and lifted it to cover the door frame like a room divider. She stuck the other end of the blanket to a wad of gum that held nicely to the wall then turned back to Regina.

“You look different,” Tinkerbell said after she looked Regina over.

“Good different or bad?”

“Good,” Tinkerbell smiled. “Although, I think I prefer you with long hair. There's just not as much to run my fingers through.”

Regina smiled and slowly sat down on the edge of Tinkerbell's bed with a worried expression.

“You're thinking too much,” Tinkerbell dropped the playfulness in her tone and made her way to the bed.

“How can I be thinking too much when my son is out there somewhere with Rumpelstiltskin.”

Tinkerbell sat down beside Regina and ran a hand up and down Regina's back.

“I'm going to help you. Tell me everything that happened from what led you to Neverland up until now.”

Emma sat with her back against the front of the cabin and dragged the tip of her father's sword through the dirt. She made lines, shapes, and finally letters using the edge of the sword to clear the carved dirt away in a clean slate effect. At first, she formed an “H” then continued to spell out “Henry” before it caused her to frown. She quickly swiped the edge of the sword over his name and made it disappear – just like he had when she left him to fight. She dropped the sword in front of her and cradled her head in her hands.

After a moment of listening to the nighttime bugs during the later part of sunset in the nearby flora, she slid her hands away from her head and brought her knees to her chest. She wrapped her arms around her shins and held herself before she rested her forehead on her knees and cried into her jeans.

 


	10. Chapter 10

The sun had gone down shortly after Emma left the cabin. Nightfall had consumed the island a couple hours prior and with its presence, Hook, Snow, and Charming had fallen asleep.

Regina and Tinkerbell remained awake behind the single room closed off by a blanket. It had taken far too long to explain the events leading from Storybrooke to Neverland, but Regina had caught up her old friend. She stiffly sat on the edge of Tinkerbell's bed, her shoulders tense and her hands in her lap. She swallowed hard and thought about all she had told the blonde she'd once been smitten with so very long ago.

“You used magic with her,” Tinkerbell asked as she shifted to face Regina more.

“And it saved the town,” Regina confirmed. “But it cost us our son.”

“How many times have you used magic with her?”

Regina quizzically looked at Tinkerbell and stared for a long moment before she decided to answer.

“Twice.”

“Well, I doubt she could make you fly like I did,” Tinkerbell muttered under her breath.

Regina chuckled.

“Jealous, dear?”

Tinkerbell glared at her.

“Never.”

“So...do you have any solutions for my predicament,” Regina asked.

“I can try to use my fairy dust with your magic to help get you home, but I'm not sure how to handle Peter.”

“If we could just get Henry back, we wouldn't need to handle Pan at all.”

Tinkerbell frowned.

“I won't help you this time until you agree to help _me_.”

Regina groaned.

“Not this again. I was generous enough to protect this part of the land for you and what did _I_ get in return?”

“As I recall,” Tinkerbell purred and moved closer again. “I made you an offer.”

Tinkerbell placed a hand on Regina's thigh and slowly slid it toward the apex of her legs. She leaned in and brought her lips a breath away from Regina's.

*** * ***

Emma looked around outside the quaint cabin. She inspected the stillness of the jungle that surrounded her and the rest of the group. She took a deep breath and turned to the cabin door with Charming's sword in hand.

Inside, Emma walked over to Snow and Charming's cot. She quietly set the sword down in front of it where Charming had retrieved it from before he'd handed it to her. She scanned the main room and stared down at the rug almost in the center of it. She puffed out a sigh and moved to the spot.

She curled up on the rug. and no longer had her coat to use as a pillow, but she'd dealt with worse sleeping conditions in the foster system. Plus, when she'd run away from her last foster home at sixteen, she didn't have anywhere to sleep until she stole the yellow bug. After that, it was either the backseat of the bug or some hotel room she and Neal slipped into after people checked out of them.

Though it'd been years since she'd had a bed without a pillow, or had to sleep on the floor, she accepted it and settled into the rug. The rug, thankfully, felt nice enough and comforting for what it was. She closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep.

*** * ***

Regina held her hands out, stuck between the decision to either touch Tinkerbell or drop them onto the bed to brace herself.

Tinkerbell's lips hovered over Regina's pulse point. Her hand teased the brunette's inner thigh and threatened to roam farther north.

Regina's hands slowly fell toward Tinkerbell, but her face showed her deep in thought.

“What do you say,” Tinkerbell husked out. “Same exchange as last time. I'll give you a way home if you finally take care of Pan for me.”

Tinkerbell licked Regina's neck just before she pressed her lips to the same spot.

Regina's eyes relaxed shut. Like magic, being with Tinkerbell was something she easily fell back into. And yet, when her hands finally touched Tinkerbell's arms, she gently pushed the blonde away.

Tinkerbell, however, pushed toward Regina. She sucked at Regina's neck in an attempt to leave a mark, but Regina groaned in protest and pushed her away again with more force.

That time, Tinkerbell pulled back.

“Same as last time,” Tinkerbell started with defeat. “For more than twenty-eight years, it seems nothing has changed.”

“A _lot_ has changed,” Regina tried not to snap at Tinkerbell's comment. “ _I've_ changed. I'm not the woman you met that day in the Enchanted Forest.”

“Yeah, I can see that. You're much more rigid.”

Regina shot her an angry look.

“And you're much needier.”

“Needy?! You think I'm needy,” Tinkerbell asked as she shot off the bed.

“And jealous. It wasn't just my way of teasing you earlier, it was the truth.”

“Jealous of what? You and _her_?”

“The fact that you can't even call her by her name proves I'm right.”

“Look,” Tinkerbell barked. “You help me rid myself of Pan and you'll get home, otherwise the _only_ thing I will give you is a place to stay until you figure things out _yourself_!”

“Ever the drama queen,” Regina stood up and smoothed out her clothes. She avoided eye contact, which made her actions all the more dismissive.

“Our relationship has always been complicated at best. I don't know why I thought all these years of separation would change that.”

“You call what we have a relationship? Please. We knew each other oncea very long time ago. That's not a relationship. That's a few days of friendship that ended in disappointment and much hurt.”

Tinkerbell rolled her eyes.

“But the point is, that was in the _past_. Would you like to try and move on? Be mindful of your answer. Say the wrong thing and you'll be on the floor along with the Captain and that _woman_.”

“I think I'll take the floor,” Regina spoke with a dangerously low and cold tone, her eyes dark with anger and frustration.

Regina walked past Tinkerbell and pulled back the blanket. She wasn't exactly careful, but she hadn't been harsh enough in handling it that it fell completely open. The instant she emerged from behind the blanket she saw Emma wrapped in a ball on the rug, her back to Tinkerbell's room. She softened at the sight.

After a moment with her eyes solely on Emma, she looked around the room for a place to sleep. Anything she saw only reminded her she wasn't in Storybrooke anymore. She didn't have her Queen sized bed with a plush comforter and sheets with a high thread count. She was in the middle of a jungle on an island in Neverland. She was in the cabin of a woman she thought she could call her friend until the two of them had a falling out not too long after Regina had married King Leopold.

_For Henry,_ she reminded herself. Everything she had to deal with in that world were done for Henry. 

It was with that simple thought, the thought she'd sort of made into a mantra, that she crossed the room and laid down on the floor in the small kitchen that connected to the main room. It was the farthest place from Tinkerbell's room and it gave her plenty of distance from the rest of the group. The floor wasn't a place she preferred to sleep, but being so distanced from everyone gave her a sense of comfort. She also knew it was the best thing she could have asked for given the situation.

** * * * **

Regina had every intention of sleeping, but the familiar sounds of a woman incoherently panicking woke her. She opened her eyes and sleepily rolled over to face the main room. She had to blink a few times before the haze from her slumber cleared and she saw Emma thrash around on the rug.

Emma cried and whimpered in her sleep.

Regina hadn't been the only one to hear it. She saw Snow and Charming shift on the cot before Snow sat up and frowned as she looked over at Emma. Within a few seconds, realization dawned on her and she crawled over her husband to remove herself from the cot.

Charming groaned and woke up. He watched in confusion as his wife went to Emma and tried to wake the blonde. He didn't get up and follow Snow to help, but he stayed alert enough in case he was needed.

“Emma, honey, wake up,” Snow quietly said as she rocked Emma back and forth.

Emma lashed out. She threw out her arm and tried to smack Snow while she rolled away from the woman. She kicked out her legs a few times like a hot, frustrated child before she rolled onto her back. She jerked around a few times and even arched her back before a tear tumbled down her cheek and moved toward her hairline.

“Emma,” Snow tried a little louder, but didn't touch her.

Regina slowly sat up.

Emma emitted a drawn out groan and lolled her head to one side. If her eyes were open, she could have looked at Regina. She whimpered again.

“Honey?”

Snow cautiously reached out and tried to shake Emma into consciousness.

Again, the gesture wasn't well received.

Emma swatted the hand away and turned on her side to completely face Regina. She curled herself into a ball again and held the back of her head with her hand as if to protect herself from a blow.

“David, I don't know what to do,” Snow said with pleading eyes as she looked back at Charming.

Charming got up and moved to Snow's side. He knelt down beside her and tried to wake Emma a little more forcefully.

“It's just a dream,” Charming said as he shook Emma's shoulder.

Emma flinched and jolted awake then into a sitting position. She panted as she tried to focus on reality, still lost in the incredibly real and believable feeling of the nightmare.

“It's okay, Emma,” Charming said and pulled Emma into a hug from the side.

“No,” Emma pushed against Charming's arm with her forearms. “No. ...No!”

Charming let go at Emma's outburst and stared at her in confusion.

Emma scrambled away from him and sat with her knees to her chest in the space between Hook and Regina against a cabin wall. She tried to regulate her breathing, her pupils wide and her eyes still unfocused.

“Emma, are you okay,” Snow asked and tried to step toward her daughter.

“Regina,” Emma breathed out.

She looked forward, nothing particular in her line of sight.

Snow looked across the room at Regina with a hurt and incredulous expression.

Regina didn't acknowledge Snow and swallowed, her eyes locked on Emma. She stood up and slowly walked over to the blonde. She sat down next to Emma, but left a few inches of space between them.

“I'm here,” Regina said.

“I had... It was another...”

Emma never finished her sentence. She blinked until her eyes finally focused and turned to look at Regina.

Neither one of them said anything. They just stared at each other for a moment.

“It wasn't just abuse,” Emma told her. “I heard kids. Crying. And then...everything just came flooding back.”

“It's okay,” Snow soothingly said as she moved closer to Emma. “It was only a bad dream.”

Emma glared at her.

“It wasn't a dream! It was my life. All of it, everything I went through growing up. And then with Ursula...”

She'd gone from angry to sad and tormented by the end of her heated confession.

Snow tried not to let Emma's attitude deter her from helping. She knelt in front of Emma and tried to touch Emma's bruised and cut cheek.

Emma turned away and Snow pulled her hand back.

Snow looked hurt over the rejection.

“Just...go back to sleep. I'll be fine,” Emma brushed her off and tiredly rested her head in her hands with her elbows on her knees.

“Will you let me use magic now,” Regina asked.

“No. Pan will know we're here if you do,” Emma replied.

“Doesn't matter. He can't attack us here.”

“The answer's still no.”

“As you wish.”

Charming took Snow into his arms and walked her over to the cot.

“We have to give her space, remember,” he told Snow.

Snow begrudgingly went back to the cot with Charming, but she looked over at Emma once more.

Regina looked down at Emma's hand and as her eyes slid up Emma's body to settle on the younger woman's face, she took the blonde's hand in hers. She didn't lace their fingers, but the gesture was just as friendly and comforting all the same.

Snow continued to stare when Emma squeezed Regina's hand in response and locked gazes with the brunette. She felt Charming tug on the hem of her shirt and looked down at him while he sat on the edge of the cot.

“We could all use some rest,” he told her. “She'll be okay. Just lay down and relax.”

Snow took a deep breath and sat down next to Charming. She weakly smiled at him then nodded.

“Can I take the outside this time,” Snow asked. “I think I was one readjustment away from pressing my nose against the cabin wall.”

The couple lightly laughed together.

“Not a problem,” Charming smiled and slid over to Snow's previous side of the cot.

Snow made herself comfortable beside him and faced outward. The first thing she focused her eyes on were Emma and Regina.

Emma rested her head against the wall and closed her eyes. She kept Regina's hand in hers and sat there.

Regina stayed with her and didn't say anything. She never moved to disconnect their hands and even mirrored Emma's action by resting her head against the wall. She stared at nothing in particular for a little longer before she closed her eyes and tried to fall back to sleep.

Snow fought to keep her eyes open, but just as Emma's head started to drop down onto Regina's shoulder she lost her battle with sleep and only saw the backs of her eyelids after that.

While everyone else slept, neither Emma or Regina remained unconscious much after that point.

Emma shivered against Regina's side for a short amount of time before she jolted awake. She pushed into Regina and accidentally jostled the other woman.

Regina's eyes popped open and she looked over at Emma.

“Emma?”

“Sorry. Did I wake you?”

Their hands were still clasped together even through their short amount of sleep, though their hold on each other had loosened.

“I'm used to it. Not so much lately, of course, but Henry...”

“Right. I'm sure the kid had plenty of bad dreams growing up,” Emma sadly laughed.

“What happened this time?”

“Ursula.”

“Anything else?”

“Does there need to be anything else,” Emma snapped, but kept her voice down to ensure she didn't wake the others.

“No,” Regina didn't hesitate to answer and remained calm. “I'm only asking.”

“It was _mostly_ Ursula,” Emma confessed after a moment.

Emma held herself, knees to chest, and her entire body shook. She hugged herself tighter, Regina's hand long abandoned for other forms of comfort.

Regina watched Emma shake and shiver beside her. She squirmed closer to Emma and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She pulled the younger woman close and rested Emma's head on her shoulder. She ran her hand up and down one of Emma's arms to warm her up.

“What else happened in the nightmare,” Regina asked then rested her chin on Emma's head.

“Ursula's abuse turned into childhood memories. Every _almost_ rape, every beating I got, every time I was reminded how worthless I am, every moment I spent wondering why my parents left me to deal with all of that.”

“You know, not to mention Henry at the risk of upsetting you, but...it makes him feel better when I rub his back and give him a cup of hot cocoa. Would that help you?”

“I don't know. I've always been a self-soother. No one's really taken care of me after a nightmare or when I'm sick. Except Neal.”

Regina noted the sadness in Emma's tone when she spoke of Henry's biological father.

“Well, what did he do?”

Emma squirmed in Regina's hold.

“I don't want to remember.”

“But if it helps-”

“I really don't want to think about him, Regina,” Emma sharply said and cut Regina off.

“I'm going to make you some cocoa.”

Regina let Emma go and stood.

Emma frowned at Regina's absence and watched her head into the kitchen.

“How are you gonna do that? There's no running water.”

“Yes, but we _are_ on an island, dear. There's water all around us.”

Regina grabbed a pot from one of the bottom cabinets in the kitchen and headed toward the front door.

“Wait,” Emma stopped Regina and stood. “I'm coming with you.”

Regina only sighed in argument and the two of them left the cabin together. She took Emma to the shoreline several yards behind the cabin and a few caves then bent down to collect water in the pot.

As they approached the shoreline, Emma knitted her brows and slowed down.

Regina noticed the change of pace and looked over her shoulder at the blonde.

“You're the one who wanted to come with me and now you can't keep up,” Regina asked. “You should have just stayed in the cabin.”

Emma shook her head as she stared deep in bothersome thought, her eyes focused on the dirt in front of her.

“I hear crying,” she slowly explained.

Regina looked quizzically at her.

“Are you sure?”

Emma nodded with her eyes still trained on the ground.

“Well,” Regina started. “That's unusual.”

“You don't hear it?”

“No.”

Finally, Emma looked up and immediately met Regina's gaze.

“If you really can hear them, you're among the very specific group of people on this island that hear them.”

“Them?”

Emma's voice almost squeaked when she asked. Her eyebrows jumped up to meet her hairline and fell just short of it.

“I've been told the lost children of the world are responsible for the crying. They spend night after night crying over the families they no longer belong with, if they ever belonged in the first place.”

Emma gulped and looked down again, her eyes filled with sadness.

“As far as I understand it, only the Lost Boys and Pan can hear them here,” Regina finished.

Emma kicked some of the dirt in front of her and stuffed a hand in the back pocket of her jeans. She moved toward the edge of the water and stopped beside Regina who had spent that time critically eying her.

“So...if they're the only ones that hear and _I_ hear it...what does that mean?”

Regina stared a moment longer before she looked from Emma to the water. She bent down and filled the pot with water and didn't supply the younger woman with an answer.

“Do you know why,” Emma asked, her tone a little accusatory as though she suspected Regina did have the answer.

“I can only assume,” Regina replied and stood.

Regina turned toward Emma and started to walk back to the cabin, but she only made it a step before Emma cut off her path.

“And your assumption?”

Regina sighed.

“The children that cry have something in common with the Lost Boys. That's why I'd assume they can hear the cries.”

Emma looked down again and remained directly in Regina's way.

Regina didn't make a move. She stood face to face with Emma and waited for the other woman to do something else.

“I...” Emma started, but struggled to say anything.

When Regina realized Emma wouldn't finish her sentence, she broke the silence.

“Whatever you're thinking...don't,” Regina gently urged her. “Thinking like that isn't going to help us get out of this mess.”

“It's how I've always thought,” Emma harshly said and tensed.

“Then start thinking like the Savior,” Regina pushed. “Because _that's_ what you are.”

“People keep saying that,” Emma frustratedly said. “I'm no savior. I have magic, but I can barley use it. I have a son that I gave up then decided I wanted him ten years later and look where we are now! I claim to be tough and I try. I really try to be that, but I'm just...not! I'm not anything.”

“Is that what you think?”

“It's not like you can tell me I'm wrong.”

Regina swallowed her reply and cleared her throat.

“You're just tired. We've got the water, let's get back to the cabin,” Regina suggested.

She grabbed Emma's arm and turned the blonde around to face the direction of the cabin. She pulled Emma with her for a few steps before she let go of the woman and Emma followed on her own.

Once they were back inside, Regina moved straight to the stove. She set the pot down on a burner and sent magic to the tip of her index finger. She pointed at the space under the burner and a single flame appeared on her fingertip. She lit the burner and pulled back.

Emma turned her back to the counter and lifted herself onto it. She looked over at the magically lit stove then slid her eyes from the stove to Regina.

Regina didn't notice Emma until she tried to step to the side and open a cupboard. The blonde sat in front of where she needed to be and caused Regina to let out a sigh of irritation. She stepped around Emma's legs as they dangled off the edge of the counter and reached up to open the cupboard by Emma's head. She pulled out a mug and set it down on the counter between Emma and the stove.

“So Tinkerbell just happens to have cocoa mix in her cabin,” Emma asked.

Regina glared at Emma, not out of anger but annoyance. Without blinking or looking away from the blonde, she waved her hand and conjured a small bag of cocoa powder.

Emma looked down at it and noted the fancy design on the front.

“Looks expensive,” Emma said.

“It is. It's from my house.”

“It's expensive because it's from your house? Talk about conceited, thinking because you'retechnically royalty that everything you own is so elegant and luxurious.”

“I'm not _technically_ royalty,” Regina argued. “I earned that title.”

Emma frowned.

“I was joking, but...now I'm curious. How exactly did you _earn_ it?”

Regina gritted her teeth and held her jaw shut tight for a moment before she relaxed it and spoke.

“I did what I was suppose to,” she answered.

“Well, what were you _supposed_ to do?”

“Everything a Queen is expected to do. The most important thing? I kept my mouth shut.”

Emma grimaced.

“I don't like how that sounds.”

“It doesn't sound nearly as devastating than what I lived through.”

“Is this about what you told me on the ship? About the...” Emma looked back at her sleeping parents then turned to face Regina again. “The guards and how they watched?”

“That was just one night,” Regina said before she could stop herself. “I suffered many more nights like that without an audience. You can only be thankful for that for so long when...”

Regina halted her speech as memories of her old life flashed in her mind.

“It's okay,” Emma said as she touched Regina's hand on the counter by her knee.

Regina's knuckles were white from her firm grip on the counter. When she felt a warm hand rest over hers, she slowly eased up on her grip. As she relaxed her fist, she looked at her covered hand then slowly looked up at Emma.

“You did what you had to and you got through it. You got so much more than some title from that, Regina,” Emma said and squeezed the brunette's hand for emphasis. “You found strength.”

“I found weakness,” Regina bitterly said.

Emma heard the self-loathing in her statement and frowned.

“I'm not going to pretend to know what you went through or how you felt, but I think magic saved you,” Emma started.

Regina's eyes flicked up to stare into Emma's eyes in surprise.

“Was relying on magic the best thing you could have done? From what I've seen, no. But if that's all you thought you had then I can understand. If it wasn't for magic, you wouldn't be here right now. You survived.”

Emma stopped talking though Regina didn't think it was all the younger woman had to say on the matter. They remained in their places and just stared at each other for several more moments.

A wet popping sound finally got Regina's attention and she looked at the pot to see the water boiling. She slid her hand out from under Emma's and waved her other hand across the burner from a safe distance. The fire from the burner disappeared.

Regina opened a drawer, carved out of tree bark much like most things in the cabin, and grabbed a pot holder. She wrapped the holder around the pot's handle and carefully tipped it over the mug. She slowly poured the hot water into the mug and only spilled a little, which she cleaned with a swipe of the pot holder.

She added the cocoa then pointed down at the mug from above it. She swirled her finger and the power and water mixed in the mug without a stirrer or spoon.

Emma watched Regina work her magic on the cocoa until Regina dropped her hand and the cocoa slowed its spinning motion in the mug. She followed Regina's hands as the woman lifted the mug with both hands and offered it to her. When Regina held it up for her to take, she found Regina's eyes.

“Thanks,” Emma said as she accepted the warmed mug.

Regina's only response came in the form of another offer. She moved to another cupboard on the opposite side of the stove, away from Emma, and pulled out one of several spices that resided in it. She set a plastic, tube-like container of cinnamon next to Emma then brought her lips a breath away from the rim of the mug.

Emma stared at Regina with intent focus and witnessed more magic.

Regina blew on the cocoa and as she did, she pulled away from the mug then swirled a finger in front of her mouth. Whipped cream appeared on top of the cocoa as if it came from a nozzle and not Regina.

“Uh, thanks again,” Emma awkwardly said. “It's not gonna taste different because you conjured it, is it?”

Regina chuckled.

“No, although my magic may leave a sent around the mug.”

Emma held the mug in one hand then plucked at the whipped cream with the index finger of her other hand. She tasted it and shrugged it off as okay for consumption.

Regina did the same and sucked the whipped cream off her own finger.

“I've still got it,” she grinned.

“How could you ever think you lost it,” Emma asked with a partially suggestive tone.

Regina pursed her lips to keep her grin from spreading into a smile.

Emma sprinkled cinnamon on the cocoa and sipped at it for the next half hour. When she finished, she had already been sitting on the rug with her legs crossed under herself.

Regina laid in front of her on the rug with her eyes trained on the ceiling.

“What's up with you and Tinkerbell,” Emma asked as she set the mug down on the floor behind her.

Regina turned her head to look at Emma, but stayed on the rug with her hands clasped together over her stomach.

“That's none of your business.”

Regina hadn't yelled and hadn't seemed outraged that Emma would ask about her personal life. Instead, she stated it with force that lacked any threat behind it.

“Oh, come on. Are you two friends or enemies?”

“That's debatable.”

“Why?”

“What do you mean 'why'? We got along when we first met and we agreed to help each other. I held up my end of the deal for the most part and she...she tricked me.”

“How?”

“Already I've told you more than you should know.”

“Hey, I'm just trying to decide if she's on our side or if I should watch my back around her.”

“My experience says watch your back.”

“Can I know why that is?”

Regina huffed out a sigh.

“Only if you promise to go to sleep once I do.”

“Sure,” Emma agreed as she unfolded her legs from under herself and laid down on her back beside Regina. “What happened?”

“She pretended to be my friend,” Regina started. “She seemed genuine enough. I told her about Snow and my so called marriage to the King. She insisted I let her help me find what I wanted.”

Emma waited through Regina's moment of silence, but she started to wonder if Regina would continue. Instead of holding out for Regina to speak, she carefully pushed forward.

“What did you want,” Emma turned to look at Regina and asked.

Regina swallowed hard and kept her eyes on the ceiling, her entire body tense. Silence fell over them for another minute before she continued.

“Love.”

Emma said nothing as she stared at Regina. The brunette's confession left her speechless and surprised.

“And she didn't do that,” Emma slowly asked after a few seconds.

Regina finally turned her head and looked at Emma, none too pleased with the blonde's assessment.

“If she had, do you honestly think we'd be here right now?”

“Sorry.”

“Although, she doesn't see it that way,” Regina hoarsely said.

“How come it doesn't seem like there's any bad blood between you two then? She and I were arguing and you took _her_ side.”

“In case you don't remember, dear, you and I aren't friends.”

“But everything you just said has me thinking you and her aren't friends either.”

“It's not like I exclusively took her side. I just broke up a fight because it wasn't going to help us get Henry back.”

“That doesn't answer my question,” Emma said.

Regina huffed out of irritation.

“You know what you wanted to know. Go to sleep,” Regina turned her attention back up to the ceiling.

Emma rolled onto her side and faced Regina.

“The cocoa helped. Thank you.”

Regina looked at Emma again and said, “You're welcome.”

Emma nudged closer to Regina and curled up at her side. Her breath hit Regina's shoulder while her front pressed against Regina's side.

“I'm glad you told me,” Emma admitted.

“...I wish you'd told me more,” Regina quietly confessed.

Emma tipped her head back and looked up at Regina. Discontent with the lack of eye contact her angle prohibited, Emma propped herself up on an elbow and stared down at Regina.

“What would you want to know about me,” Emma asked with genuine confusion.

“You are so unbelievably important,” Regina slowly said. “But you don't see that, do you.”

“I'm not important.”

“You're special, Emma, and much stronger than I ever will be.”

Emma shook her head and averted her gaze. Her lips quivered and she squeezed her eyes closed.

“No, I'm not,” Emma forced out as she fought off tears.

“I just gave you not one but _two_ compliments and you're going to deny them,” Regina broke up the moment with a bit of humor in her question.

“Because you're wrong,” Emma refused to accept Regina's efforts.

“Let me give you some advice, when the Evil Queen compliments Snow White's offspring the proper response is, 'Thank you, Regina.'”

Emma flicked her eyes up to look at Regina. Tears that had yet to fall were in them while shed tears rolled down and stained her cheeks.

Regina reached up and wiped away a tear with her thumb. Once she rid Emma's cheek of the tear, she brought her hand down to Emma's neck and clasped her silver circle necklace.

Emma felt Regina pull the necklace closer and leaned in with it.

With one hand still on her own stomach and one wrapped around Emma's necklace, Regina tilted her head and pressed her lips to Emma's.

The kiss started off chaste, nothing more than a short and sweet peck, but it seemed like once they made contact neither Emma or Regina could distance themselves. Emma brought her lips down onto Regina's with a harder touch for the next kiss and placed a hand on the rug beside Regina's head. She rolled half of her body onto Regina's while her hair fell onto either side of the brunette's face.

Regina released the necklace and cupped Emma's neck with her thumb pressed to the blonde's cheek.

Emma's necklace tickled Regina's skin between chin and throat before the kiss turned passionate and the necklace slid over the column of Regina's throat.

Regina slid her hand off her stomach and grabbed Emma's hip with bruising force. She weaved her other hand through long, blonde hair and kept Emma close.

Emma tore her lips away to take in a shuddered breath. She rested her forehead on Regina's and sniffled.

Though the kiss had been broken, Regina still kept a good grip on Emma and refused to let go.

Emma opened her eyes and saw Regina staring up at her.

“I can still hear them crying,” Emma said.

“Do _you_ still want to cry,” Regina asked.

Emma swallowed and thought about it.

“Yeah,” she mirthlessly laughed through her confession.

Regina stroked Emma's cheek with the pad of her thumb a few times.

“I won't stop you.”

Emma's lips quivered again and she moved down Regina's body. She rested her head on the brunette's chest and snuggled against the woman.

Regina wrapped her arms around Emma and hugged her. It didn't take long before she felt Emma shake with silent sobs.

The harder Emma cried, though careful not to make too much noise, the tighter she squeezed Regina against herself.

Regina soothingly rubbed Emma's back and ran a hand through blonde hair. She held Emma as the blonde shook and clung to her for the next hour. She didn't close her eyes until Emma cried herself to sleep.

*** * ***

As the sun rose in the sky to the east of the cabin, Snow sat up in the cot with a pain in her chest and shoulder. Her fae twisted in discomfort as she bent at the waist over the side of the cot. She gently clutched at her shirt where she felt the pain when a new wave of it coursed through her.

She gulped and blinked a couple times before she looked across the room and spotted Emma in Regina's arms on the rug. She tilted her head in confusion and tried to stare at the two of them a little longer, but the pain she felt distracted her.

“David,” Snow reached behind herself and grabbed Charming.

She gripped his arm and shook him awake.

“David, something's wrong,” she said as Charming sat up, still sleepy.

“What is it,” he groggily asked.

Snow winced in pain and dug her nails into Charming's leg.

“Snow?”

Charming shifted to sit beside her on the edge of the bed. He looked her over with concern and saw where she grabbed at herself. He took her hand in his and pulled it away from her shoulder then peeled her shirt to the side to inspect the area.

Immediately, he saw black lines that seemed to travel along her veins.

“What is that,” Snow panicked as she saw what Charming did.

At the shrill tone of Snow's voice, Emma started to stir. Her movements jostled Regina awake while Emma pushed off the floor and propped herself up on one hand. She ran a hand through her hair then looked down and saw Regina yawn. When Regina's eyes opened and locked onto hers, she hesitated in her movements and just stared.

Regina stared back and appeared as frozen as Emma though the brunette remained on her back on the rug.

“I don't know, but it doesn't look good,” Charming replied to Snow's earlier question.

His voice got Emma and Regina's attention and Emma rolled into a sitting position. She turned to face her parents and furrowed her brows.

Regina sat up behind Emma and looked over the blonde's shoulder to check on Snow and Charming.

Hook grumbled and rubbed an eye with his hand then pushed away from the wall. He drowsily stood up and approached the royal family.

“What is it that has you disrupting my sleep,” Hook grumpily complained. “Between Swan crying and my lack of rum in this cabin, I don't think my eyes were closed for more than twenty minutes.”

“Just tell us what that is,” Charming angrily asked and pointed to the black areas under Snow's skin that branched out from the front of her shoulder.

Emma and Regina stopped in front of the couple and stared at what had everyone's attention. Emma's eyes widened at the sight. Regina only appeared mildly shocked.

“Dreamshade,” Hook informed them. “Nasty poison.”

“Poison,” Snow asked with a high pitched voice.

“It's what I used on Rumpelstiltskin when I stabbed him with my hook,” Hook added.

“How long until it has the same effect on her,” Emma asked.

“Depends on the amount of Dreamshade she was hit with,” Hook answered.

“Wait,” Emma shook her head then turned to Regina. “I thought you healed her.”

Tinkerbell came out from behind the blanket that separated her room from the main room.

“I did,” Regina exclaimed.

“Then why didn't it work?”

“I can heal wounds. My magic can't rid a person's body of poison.”

“What's going on,” Tinkerbell asked Regina as she looked from the brunette to the rest of the group.

“Do know about Dreamshade,” Emma asked as she rounded on the fairy.

“Yes,” Tinkerbell looked from Emma to Regina. “There are plants that carry the poison. It's deadly.”

Emma clenched a fist and tried not to yell at the fairy while she fought off tears of frustration.

“Is there a way to remove it from the bloodstream? Some way to make it _not_ fatal,” Emma asked.

“I...I don't know,” Tinkerbell answered and kept her eyes on Emma.

“There has to be something we can do,” Regina stepped up to stand beside Emma.

“If there is, I can't help you,” Tinkerbell said.

“You've been living here for more than twenty-eight years and you're telling me you don't know _anything_ that can help,” Regina snapped.

Emma looked at Regina, surprised at the brunette's outburst.

Tinkerbell saw the anger in Regina's eyes and sighed.

“I'm not sure it will help, but there's someone on this island that may have a serum or at least might be able to make one,” Tinkerbell said.

“Great,” Emma flatly said as she looked back at Tinkerbell, tense and frustrated. “Who?”

*** * ***

Henry blinked several times and groaned as he slowly sat up. He looked around at the surrounding island and saw nothing other than trees and bushes in the soft light of the morning sun.

“Grandpa,” Henry called out.

He hissed and reached down for his calve. He touched his hand to it and groaned in pain again.

“Grandpa,” he called out louder.

Twigs snapped behind the trees in front of Henry. He focused more on the pain he felt, but looked up when a few of the bushes moved.

“Grandpa!”

Henry sounded scared and on the verge of tears. He scrunched up his face and squirmed on the ground with the pain that shot through his leg. He kept his eyes focused on the rustling bushes and saw Rumple emerge from them.

“Henry? Is everything alright, boy?”

He shook his head.

“My leg. It hurts,” he said through gritted teeth.

Rumple limped to Henry's side then knelt down and took a look for himself. He moved Henry's hand out of the way and saw black lines extend from where he'd been shot with an arrow.

“Oh, Henry,” he sadly breathed out with concern.

“What is it,” Henry worriedly asked and looked down to see for himself.

He breathed hard and rapidly when he saw the black spot.

“We need to get you help,” Rumple said.

“But you healed me.”

“I healed everything but the poison that now courses through your veins. Magic has it's limits.”

“A-a-am I gonna die?”

“Not if I get you help. Come on,” Rumple scooped Henry into his arms and carried him through the jungle to get to shore.

Henry wrapped his arms around Rumple's shoulders and resisted the urge to cry.

“You're going to be in a lot of pain, Henry,” Rumple started to explain. “But I need you to be quiet because we have to leave Echo Caves to find an antidote. Leaving the caves means we'll be unprotected against Pan. Do you understand?”

“Mhmm,” Henry nodded, his face still scrunched up in pain.

“I'll get us there as fast as I can. You just hold on.”

 


	11. Chapter 11

“Don't use magic,” Tinkerbell strictly warned the group as she led them through the jungle.

Regina followed Tinkerbell with Emma behind her. The Charmings walked behind their daughter, Charming's arm around Snow's waist to help her through her pain, and Hook at the end of their line of misfit heroes.

“You still haven't told us where we're going,” Emma spoke before Regina let go of a branch and giant leaf hit her in the face.

Emma glared at the back of Regina's head as she pushed the leaf out of her way and the group continued through the jungle.

“We're leaving the protection of the caves,” Tinkerbell replied. “We need a mermaid.”

“Oh, no. Not with the underwater creatures again,” Emma refused to accept Tinkerbell’s solution. “I'd be happy never to see The Little Mermaid again.”

Regina apologetically looked back at Emma and reached out for the blonde's free hand, Emma's right hand already gripped around Neal's sword.

Emma looked down at Regina's extended hand and took it after a hesitant moment.

“The mermaids aren't kind,” Tinkerbell started. “But there are a few that remain hidden and out of the way of the bandits.”

“The bandits,” Snow asked, though she sounded tired and a little winded.

“Several of the mermaids revolted after King Triton's demise,” Tinkerbell explained. “They banded together when Ursula took over and helped keep humans away from controlling the sea. It's another reason Ursula kept Ariel from marrying Prince Eric. The union would have meant the people from Prince Eric's kingdom would own the sea, which, of course means the mermaids.”

“You know a lot about this,” Emma said.

“Yes, well, after my time in the Enchanted Forest,” Tinkerbell started as she continued to lead them through the jungle. “I came back to Neverland. I didn't have anywhere else to go.”

“That's when I used a protection spell on the area around the caves. She opened a portal to Neverland and kept it open long enough for me to use my magic then leave,” Regina added.

“I've been here many years,” Tinkerbell spoke again. “I haven't left since the day Regina protected the caves so I've seen a lot of terrible things happen here. Believe it or not, Peter Pan was once just a sad little boy who'd created this land to escape his hopeless childhood. Know that I've watched him change into the monster he is today.”

“Okay. Pan wasn't always evil, but he is now. There's a large number of angry mermaids that hate us and now we're going to find one of them to help us,” Emma ran through the facts.

“Your deduction skills amaze me, Miss Swan,” Regina dryly stated.

“Really? We're back to 'Miss Swan' now,” Emma asked.

“When did she ever call you anything else,” Charming questioned.

“Uh... Let's just worry about getting Mary Margaret help,” Emma stopped trying to explain herself before she even began.

Charming frowned and looked over at the blonde.

“ _You're_ back to calling _me_ Mary Margaret,” Snow asked, deflated.

“What happened to Mom and Dad,” Charming asked before his eyes fell toward the ground and accidentally caught sight of Emma and Regina's joined hands.

Charming narrowed his eyes at their hands and silently questioned the oddly affectionate gesture between them.

“I just...no one's really in danger, right? I don't...” Emma trailed off.

“Right,” Snow started. “The only times you've ever called us that was if the situation was life or death.”

“I'm sorry,” Emma said as her eyes went from Snow to Charming.

“No, it's okay,” Snow calmly assured Emma. “You're still not ready for all this family stuff. I get it.”

“Well, I sure as hell don't,” Charming boldly said.

Emma apologetically looked at Snow once again and subconsciously squeezed Regina's hand.

Regina looked back at Emma and saw her attention was set on her sad parents. She laced her fingers with Emma's and squeezed her hand back.

Emma turned to look at Regina when she felt the other woman squeeze her hand. She only saw the back of Regina's head, but faintly smiled anyway despite how the brunette might have looked.

“How much farther until we find the mermaid,” Regina briskly asked and kept her eyes forward.

“It won't take much longer. There's a shoreline we can access just beyond those trees,” the pixie pointed at the trees she'd referred to.

“Once we get there, how will we find the mermaid,” Charming asked.

“We'll have to call for her,” Tinkerbell replied.

“And how will we do that,” Regina asked.

Tinkerbell slowed down and reached into the small pocket of her short, green dress. She retrieved a sea shell and a vile of what appeared to be a dull gray dust, seemingly not enchanted.

“With this,” Tinkerbell answered and gently waved around the sea shell for the group to see.

“Non-mermaids can call for mermaids,” Charming asked as they approached a clearing.

“Yes, although it requires a bit more effort than it would a mermaid.”

“You're not about to use magic, are we,” Regina asked. “After you just told us not to to?”

“Of course not,” Tinkerbell came to a stop once she pushed past a few bushes and walked into the clearing. “Not everything requires magic.”

Regina stood face to face with Tinkerbell, Emma at her side with their hands still joined.

Tinkerbell spoke directly to Regina when she mentioned magic and her tight, less than amused tone expressed her momentary disdain for the brunette.

Regina almost growled as she glared at Tinkerbell.

Emma hissed and let go of Regina's hand. She shook her own hand around as though she'd been burned, which she almost had been.

“Easy, Regina,” Emma exclaimed, her face scrunched up in pain. “No magic, remember? I'd also really like to avoid burn marks whether or not we can use magic.”

Regina looked down at the hand that previously held Emma's and saw its redness as well as the small flame that threatened to flare into a fireball. She sighed as she closed her fist and made the flame diminish.

“I'm sorry,” she quietly apologized as she looked up at Emma.

“We're close, but there's still a bit of a ways to go,” Tinkerbell interrupted whatever moment Emma and Regina had tried to have.

“Well, I'm not wasting anymore time,” Charming said and pushed his way into the clearing with the women, Snow still at his side as he continued to help her walk. “I don't care how far away the mermaid is. I'm not losing Snow while we're camping out. We've gotten plenty of rest. Let's get moving.”

“Um, there's also kind of the problem of Henry,” Emma interjected.

“Right,” Charming sadly looked down.

“We should split up,” Hook suggested.

“But without Jack's compass, how are we supposed to find him,” Regina asked.

“I told you that thing wasn't any good,” Emma said. “There's got to be another way.”

“The only thing I can think of is a locator spell,” Regina replied.

“No, no magic. I don't want Pan to find us,” Emma firmly said.

“I know, but...there _is_ no other way,” Regina flailed her hands in frustration.

There was a moment of silence between the group, awkward and upsetting. After a moment, Tinkerbell broke it.

“If we _don't_ split up,” Tinkerbell started. “Then we can ask the mermaid for help.”

“I thought you said most of them weren't very friendly,” Snow said.

“Bargaining chips,” Tinkerbell said. “We can offer her something in return.”

“What could we possibly offer a mermaid,” Emma asked. “We barely have enough weapons and knowledge to protect ourselves and half of us don't know our way around this island!”

“We've still got time to think about it,” Tinkerbell calmly said.

Emma sighed and walked away from the group. She ran a hand through her hair and paced in a circle. When she made a full three hundred-sixty degree turn, she kicked the dirt under her feet and tried not scream.

Everyone looked at Emma and just stared as they waited to see what she would do next.

Charming almost growled, however. He did not look pleased.

“Emma, we have to do _something_. You can't just pace around and cry and whine like a kid that isn't getting her way,” Charming told her.

Regina turned to Charming and dropped her jaw at what she'd heard. Her shocked expression turned into one of rage, but she didn't get to defend Emma before the blonde spoke up for herself.

“I'm _thinking_! Okay? I don't know about you, but I've got parents _and_ a son to think about. If you guys had just been more careful then I wouldn't have to chose between you guys and Henry. But...if you're going to be mean and try to bully me into making a decision, let me tell you that I wouldn't pick you,” Emma yelled as she approached them with a finger pointed at Charming then lowered her tone into a growl. “My son is the only thing that matters out here. He may be smart and know how to put up a good front like Regina, but he's still just a kid. You and Mary Margaret are adults. I shouldn't have to be looking over my shoulder wondering if you two are okay.”

Charming opened his mouth to say something, but Snow patted his shoulder. When she had his attention, she shook her head with a sadness in her pleading eyes.

“That's the difference between you and me,” Emma said, softer that time. “I pick my kid. I wish I'd done that the first time around, but knowing what I know now, if I could go back, I wouldn't change a thing. Henry was better off without me at the time, but _now_? I'm not leaving him. I'm in this. One hundred percent. So if splitting up is what's best for Henry, I'll do it.”

Snow looked completely heartbroken at Emma's words.

Regina proudly grinned and took a moment to enjoy the suffering Snow seemed to be in. Sure, she'd healed Snow twice during their time in Neverland, but that didn't mean she and the younger brunette had made amends. They still had a long way to go as far as Regina was concerned. So she reveled in the moment then spoke up.

“We don't have anything to offer this mermaid so we _should_ split up.”

“With no way of finding Henry,” Tinkerbell asked. “I actually don't think splitting up is the solution.”

Emma furrowed her brows and appeared lost in thought. She seemed way too concentrated, though only Hook noticed.

“What's the matter, Swan,” Hook asked. “You look like you're having some digestive issues.”

All eyes were on Emma again.

“I think I can find Henry,” Emma ignored Hook's comment.

Regina took a few steps toward Emma with hopeful eyes.

“How,” Regina asked as she stopped in front of Emma, a foot or two of distance between them.

“He's...crying.”

Regina instantly paled while Emma visibly deflated at the realization.

“What do you mean he's crying,” Charming asked.

“You can hear him,” Regina quietly asked as she rested a hand over her stomach, one of her nervous habits.

Emma nodded.

Regina swallowed hard and took a moment to change her demeanor and slip on one of her well practiced masks. Her eyes were dark with rage and her posture went completely rigid before she turned to the rest of the group.

“We're splitting up. Emma and I are going after Henry,” Regina took charge. “If one of you wants to help us then join us now because we're leaving. Snow, Charming, you two are staying behind to find that mermaid. Heal Snow and come find us when you're well.”

Regina started to usher Emma away from the group and further into the jungle.

“Wait,” Tinkerbell stopped them.

Regina and Emma turned to the other blonde and saw her toss Charming the sea shell then approach him and hand over the dust.

“Blow into that,” Tinkerbell told Charming. “And when the mermaid comes, use this if you have to.”

Tinkerbell finished explaining when she handed over the vile of dust.

“What is it,” Charming asked as he curiously looked at the vile in his hand.

“Poppy seed. It'll knock out anyone long enough to detain them and it's not magic so it won't attract attention,” Tinkerbell answered.

“What are you doing,” Regina asked with a furrowed brow as she watched Tinkerbell approach herself and Emma.

“I'm coming with you. Hook knows the island well enough. He can protect Snow and Charming. If you two wander off without me, you'll either get yourselves lost or in trouble.”

Emma rolled her eyes.

“Part of me would prefer Hook helping us,” Emma bitterly said.

“That can be arranged, love,” Hook smirked.

“No,” Regina stopped him from taking even a single step in their direction.

Emma questioningly eyed Regina, as did Tinkerbell.

Regina looked at the two blondes on either side of her then back to Hook who had raised an eyebrow with a stifled laugh.

“Henry's still with Rumple and if we do find him, I don't want Hook to let his vengeance get the best of him,” Regina explained.

Everyone shrugged off her answer as though they bought it, except Tinkerbell. She waited until Regina looked at her again so the brunette would know she suspected Regina had another reason for keeping the slimy pirate away from Emma.

Regina caught Tinkerbell's look and refrained from rolling her eyes. Instead, she gave Tinkerbell a look of her own that said she spoke the truth.

“Like Charming said, let's not waste any more time,” Regina said and brushed past Tinkerbell.

She and Emma headed toward the thicker looking part of the jungle while Tinkerbell followed after them, but still seemed disbelieving of Regina's excuse about Hook.

Emma didn't even bother to say goodbye to her parents. She didn't hate them. She knew that, but Charming seemed less like himself and more tense. She blamed it on being stuck in the middle of nowhere with no way home, but it felt like there was more to it than that.

After trekking through a handful of prickly bushes, she let it go and focused on getting Henry. Although, that seemed a lot easier than when it was just her and Regina. With Tinkerbell along for the journey, the fairy only distracted her, especially when she talked to Regina.

“About last night,” Tinkerbell started while she walked with Regina at her side a few steps behind Emma. “I didn't mean to upset you.”

“Don't worry about it,” Regina plainly said.

“What do you mean 'don't worry about it'? You're mad at me. I can tell.”

“I shouldn't have expected anything different,” Regina carelessly said.

“Excuse me,” Tinkerbell asked, a little outraged and a lot offended.

“You're just like everyone else, Tink, whether you like to admit it or not.”

Tinkerbell furrowed her brow, confused.

“How is that?”

“Everyone has always wanted something from me and you're no different. A little over twenty-eight years ago, I was shocked to find out just what exactly it was you wanted from me and it seems that in the time we've been apart, I had forgotten just what it was you wanted. That's _why_ it came to me as a shock last night, but I should have remembered. I should've known better.”

“Known better than what,” Tinkerbell angrily asked.

“Known better than to trust you'd actually help me without asking for anything in return.”

“You need help, I need help. So what if we scratch each other's backs?”

“Okay,” Emma broke up the lover's quarrel and spun on her heels to face Regina and Tinkerbell. “I'm trying to concentrate on the crying, which isn't easy for me considering what it all means that I can hear it in the first place, and you two are talking about...God, I don't even want to know! Can you two just _please_ stop talking so I can hear Henry?”

Regina looked down and subtly cleared her throat. Her silence was the answer to Emma's question and Emma noticeably appreciated it.

Tinkerbell looked off to the side, still angry, and crossed her arms over her chest while she pouted.

“Thank you,” Emma puffed out and turned back around to face her previous direction.

Emma closed her eyes and listened to the cries. Once she could hear them again, she tried to zero in on Henry.

Everything around her was quiet. Branches and bushes swayed in the breeze while twigs snapped under someone's feet. She didn't realize who it was that had stepped over the twigs until she felt a hand on her lower back.

Emma gasped at the light contact of Regina's fingertips on her shirt and the other woman's scent. Suddenly, Emma heard Henry with perfect clarity.

“You did it,” Emma whispered.

“Did what, dear,” Regina asked right in Emma's ear.

“I can hear him again. Better than before,” Emma admitted.

“Can you pinpoint where he is,” Regina asked as she moved her hand off Emma's lower back and walked around to stand in front of the blonde.

Emma had to focus harder when Regina stopped touching her. She squeezed her eyes her eyes shut tighter.

“It's harder to... I think I'm losing focus,” Emma exasperatedly confessed.

“Don't think,” Regina quickly reminded her. “Just feel.”

Regina closed the space between them and grabbed Emma's forearm.

Seconds ticked by before Emma smiled and opened her eyes.

“Got him,” Emma directed her smile at Regina.

Regina smiled back, elated by the good news.

“Let's get him back,” Regina said.

Emma didn't hesitate and took off in the direction of Henry's cries. Regina followed after her with Tinkerbell hot on their heels.

*** * ***

“We're not far now,” Rumple told Henry as he continued to carry the boy as he limped toward the shore.

Henry groaned and buried his face in Rumple's neck.

“I know it hurts, Henry. I promise I'm trying.”

“I want my moms,” he said into Rumple's neck.

Rumple had no response. He looked saddened if not hurt by Henry's admission. It just reminded him of Baelfire when he was younger, only wanting his mother. It got much worse after Rumple had turned into the Dark One.

“We're almost there,” Rumple said after a moment in an attempt to assure Henry.

He limped through a few more overgrown bushes before he saw the shimmering shoreline. The rising sun gave the island a peaceful glow that would have been a beautiful sight under different circumstances.

Rumple grunted in his struggle to set Henry down in the sand, but he accomplished his task soon enough.

“Where are you going,” Henry asked as he tried not to sob.

“Nowhere,” Rumple answered as he hobbled closer to the water and knelt down. He reached into the sand and grabbed a moderately sized sea shell.

It may have been a while since his last visit to Neverland, but he still knew a few tricks.

“I'm right here,” Rumple said to ease Henry's worry then lifted the sea shell to his mouth.

Rumple blew into the shell, but it made no sound. He didn't seem the least bit concerned about that. Instead, he dropped his hand to his side with the shell still in it and waited.

*** * ***

“So...how do we use this,” Charming asked as he inspected the shell then looked up to Hook for the answer.

“You blow.”

Charming narrowed his eyes, not pleased with that particular answer.

Hook smirked then stepped up to Charming and invaded his personal space. He held out his hand and hovered over the shell in Charming's hand.

“May I,” Hook asked, only then concerned with being granted permission.

Charming sighed and begrudgingly handed the shell to the pirate.

Snow sat on a rock off to the side while the two of them talked, or whatever it was they were doing. She stared out at the sea while the sun barely started to rise and let out a pained sigh meant to be one of relief and tried to relax, or at the very least remain calm.

Hook blew into the shell and the sound of his breath hitting the edges of the shell sounded in the space around them. He stood and waited. He scanned the horizon and looked for anything in the open, and surprisingly quiet, sea.

After a couple minutes, Snow and Charming stared expectantly at Hook.

“Huh,” Hook furrowed his brow and continued to stare at the sea. “That should've done _something_ by now.”

“Maybe you did it wrong,” Charming said and grabbed the shell from Hook.

“Please. There's no way I did that wrong.”

“Yeah, well then why isn't anything happening?”

Charming raised the shell to his lips and blew into it. The sound of his breath against the contours of the shell were faint, not as obnoxious as Hook's breath. He raised the vile of poppy seed and kept it at the ready, just in case. He hadn't been ready last time and they might have gotten lucky that Hook had been unsuccessful in calling a mermaid.

After a moment, Hook chuckled.

“Guess you didn't do it right either,” Hook said.

Charming glared at him, but before he had the chance to come up with a witty remark or even punch Hook just because he felt like it, the water rippled in the distance.

Snow, Charming, and Hook all turned to see something in the water as it encroached upon the shore.

“We wanted to call a mermaid, right,” Charming nervously asked as he watched the water rise to make a wave, the three of them unable to see what creature swam toward them.

“Not sure that's a mermaid, mate,” Hook grimaced. “Maybe _you're_ the one who did it wrong.”

“Jury's still out,” Charming slowly said as he reached for his sword and unsheathed it just before the water lapped against the shore.

When the wave disappeared, a mermaid with dark brown hair positioned herself on her hands. She kept her tail under the water as best she could so close to land and managed to flap it around enough for Charming, Hook, and Snow to get a good look.

“Nope,” Charming said. “Didn't do that wrong.”

Hook jealously looked at the mermaid, bitter about Charming's success.

*** * ***

Rumple quickly pulled his dagger out of his boot when the mermaid approached him. He threateningly held it out, ready to attack if need be, and waited for the sea creature to get her bearings.

A redheaded mermaid with a shiny, teal tail appeared, but instantly cowered at the sight of Rumple's dagger.

Rumple cocked his head to one side and curiously stared at the mermaid.

“You,” he drawled out in realization. “You're alive?”

The mermaid swallowed, suddenly unsure of her safety, but took a chance and pulled herself closer to the shore.

“You called,” she asked.

Rumple snapped himself out of his questioning thoughts, all confused and shocked by the mermaid's identity.

“Yes,” Rumple answered. “My grandson needs an antidote for Dreamshade. I'm told you have it.”

The mermaid looked over at the pained boy Rumple motioned to and frowned, concern soon etched on her face. After a quick look at Henry, she returned her gaze to Rumple before she replied.

“I _may_ be able to help, but I've heard more than one call.”

“That means nothing to me. Why should I care if you've been called to help anyone else? Do you know who I am?”

“If the stories are true about the Enchanted Forest, then yes. Your dagger tells me exactly who you are.”

“Then you'll help me or suffer the consequences,” Rumple spoke in his slimy, authoritative voice he'd only previously used in the Enchanted Forest.

“I've suffered a worse fate than any punishment you could give me,” the mermaid darkly said.

Rumple devilishly grinned.

“Yes, I suppose you have,” Rumple slowly said. “ _Ariel_.”

Ariel glared at Rumple as though the sound of her own name discomforted her. She remained silent with her death glare trained on Rumpelstiltskin for another moment before she spoke again.

“We have a limited supply of antidote.”

“Well, unless you have _no_ antidote, I'm only asking for a single vile.”

“You don't seem to understand the meaning of receiving more than one call. There's someone else on this island in need of the antidote as well.”

“You'd end a mere boy's life because someone else wants a vile? I knew you mermaids were ruthless, but I guess you in particular learned a lot from Ursula.”

Ariel growled, though she also flinched at the Sea Witch's name.

“We only have two bottles of the antidote you require,” Ariel spoke in a low, angered tone.

“Then give one to my grandson.”

Ariel let out a long, heavy sigh through her nose. Even Henry knew the mermaid was aggravated and he hadn't been able to focus on the conversation as much as the poison in his calve.

The redhead closed her eyes and Rumple and Henry heard a faint jingling sound.

*** * ***

The jingling reached the brown haired mermaid's ears and even Charming, Hook, and Snow managed to hear it. The three of them looked around in confusion and tried to find the source of the jingling. They saw nothing else but the single mermaid they'd called.

“I'm afraid if I _do_ decide to help you,” the mermaid started as she opened her eyes and the jingling stopped. “I can only supply you with _one_ vile of this antidote.”

Charming winced, an expression Hook caught just before the Prince masked it with a brave face.

“That's all we need,” Charming firmly said.

“Very well. In exchange for this antidote, however, I require something myself.”

“Of course you do,” Charming fought to keep his anger under control. “What is it?”

“My sister. She's in desperate need of a salve, but the ingredients needed for it are all on land.”

“So you want us to make a salve for your sister? _Then_ you'll give us the antidote?”

“Yes. We've been able to keep her wounds sealed temporarily for a while now, but we seemed to have missed the fact that she now has an infection. She may very well die from her injuries if a Cracken doesn't follow her blood and swallow her whole first.”

Hook questioningly furrowed his brow.

“Who's your sister,” the pirate asked.

“Ariel.”

Charming and Snow's eyes widened, both completely taken aback by that information. Hook only raised an eyebrow.

“Interesting,” Hook commented, more to himself than anyone else.

“Wait, Ariel... She isn't dead,” Snow asked from the rock she remained perched on.

The mermaid looked at Snow and shook her head.

“She only fooled Ursula into believing she was. Although, she was nearly dead when she finally escaped,” the mermaid explained. “We've been trying to overtake Ursula for years, but...we don't have the strength or resources we once had. And, honestly, Ariel is still _terrified_ of her.”

“Oh, so you don't know,” Snow carefully asked.

“Know what,” the mermaid tilted her head and asked.

“Ursula's dead.”

The mermaid gasped.

“We're...we're free?”

Snow slowly smiled then nodded.

“Yes. My daughter...well, she and Regina-”

“Regina. The Evil Queen?”

Snow nervously nodded.

“I've heard she's just as cruel as Ursula,” the mermaid glared at Snow, suddenly doubtful about trusting the group she faced.

Snow shook her head.

“ _She's_ the one who killed Ursula,” Snow explained.

The mermaid's eyebrows shot into her hairline.

“Well, I would gladly accept that in exchange for the antidote...but Ariel truly does need the salve.”

“I understand,” Snow soothingly said. “We'll prepare it. Just tell us the ingredients and we'll work as quickly as we can, so long as you can keep Pan away from us.”

“Pan is after you?”

Snow sadly nodded.

“He seems to have a fascination with my grandson,” Snow informed the mermaid.

The mermaid slowly nodded in understanding.

“You're working with the people who have freed us from Ursula's reign and you'll give us the salve that will save my sister's life. For that, I'll get the rest of my family to thwart whatever attacks we can. You have a small band of mermaids on your side.”

“Thank you,” Snow warmly smiled at her.

“Alright, what do you need for the salve,” Hook impatiently asked. “The clock's ticking and I'd rather not be in Neverland much longer than I have to.”

*** * ***

Emma had significantly slowed her pace in the last ten minutes. She almost stopped in her tracks while she struggled yet again to differentiate between Henry's cries and the lost children of the world. At one point on their way to where she believed Henry was, she thought she heard her own crying. She hadn't been sure and neither Tinkerbell or Regina had told her if she'd started to cry. Although, it made a little bit of sense that she might not have been crying out loud. She cried on the inside a lot. She'd built up enough defenses to withhold her tears, but there times when  _feeling_ like crying and  _actually_ crying were two extremely different things. And sometimes, she just had to let it out.

“Did you lose him,” Regina sadly asked Emma, her voice also still filled with concern as she sidled up to Emma.

“Kind of. I can still hear him, but there are _a lot_ of crying kids,” Emma explained.

“It's okay,” Regina tried to assure her and comfortingly ran her hand up and down Emma's bicep.

“No, it's not,” Emma shrugged away from Regina.

Regina frowned and watched Emma fight with herself.

“I should be able to find him! He's with Rumpel-freakin-stiltskin and I want to believe that he wouldn't hurt Henry because he's his grandson. But I can't _know_ that and I don't like not knowing if he's safe!”

Regina faintly smiled and laughed under her breath.

“Welcome to motherhood,” Regina said.

Tinkerbell stood a few steps behind the two of them and just watched the scene unfold.

Emma puffed out a frustrated sigh and carelessly flailed her arms before she dropped them to her sides, defeated.

Tinkerbell rolled her eyes and stepped closer to Emma.

“Focus,” Tinkerbell sternly commanded.

“I _can't_ focus,” Emma snapped.

Regina quickly stepped between the two blondes and ushered Emma away from Tinkerbell. She shot a warning look over her shoulder at the fairy then redirected her attention solely back to Emma.

“Take deep breaths,” Regina calmly said as she stopped Emma and turned the younger woman to face her. “Breathe. Relax.”

Emma, without hesitation, listened to Regina and regulated her breathing. It soon went from erratic to normal and her heart stopped angrily thudding in her chest. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on Henry again, but certain thoughts wouldn't leave her mind when she failed to bury them.

“I wish you could do this and just poof us to him,” Emma confessed.

“Shh,” Regina slowly ran her hands up and down Emma's arms again. “Remember the day Henry found you in Boston?”

Regina took a step closer to Emma, the blonde's eyes still closed.

“Yeah,” Emma answered.

“Were you surprised to see him?”

Emma smiled as the memory flooded her thoughts and took precedence over everything else.

“Of course. I...I never expected to see him after that day, after I gave him up.”

“What happened when you saw him for the first time since that day?”

“He was at my door and just invited himself inside. All he said was, 'I'm Henry. I'm your son' then barged into my apartment. I freaked out and ran into the bathroom and he asked for juice. I couldn't breathe.”

“But you got over it and brought him back to Storybrooke.”

Emma smiled again, brighter than the first time.

“Yeah. He kept talking about his book of fairy tales. I was dead set to just give him back to his parents and go back to my life, my boring and lonely life.”

“And yet, you couldn't that, could you?”

Emma shook her head.

“Why is that,” Regina asked.

“Because I looked at him and he seemed so hopeful. He was cute and persuasive and sneaky. He purposely left his book in my car so I'd have to come back.”

Regina smiled at that and took another step closer to Emma, close enough to breathe the same air.

“I felt that connection. That link to him that all mothers have to their kids, biological or not. And I knew, I couldn't admit it to myself, but I knew. I loved him. I love him more than anything and I just want to find him. I want to bring him home. I want my son back.”

Before Emma could shed a tear at her admission, Regina leaned in with closed eyes and pressed their foreheads together. The second they made contact, the ground shook and pulled them out of their moment.

A panicked yelp caused Emma and Regina to whip their heads in the direction Emma had started to lead them in before she needed to stop and readjust her focus.

“Henry,” Emma and Regina simultaneously breathed out.

Tinkerbell gaped at Emma and Regina in that moment. She was impressed, amazed, sad, and maybe a little jealous at what had transpired.

None of them had a chance to really process what had happened before the three of them rushed toward the scream at near lightning fast speed.

“Henry,” Regina called out.

“Henry!”

Two mothers ran for their son like their lives depended on it. And both would admit their lives had depended on it. If they lost Henry, both would be destroyed and there was no question about it.

Emma, Regina, and Tinkerbell ran straight to the shore and saw Rumple hold Henry close to his body.

“You can't have him,” Rumple yelled at the demented boy who clearly ran the tragically managed island.

“Well, that's not for you to decide, is it,” Pan grinned.

Then, as if on cue, the Shadow appeared and loomed overhead.

“No,” Emma wildly yelled, more guttural and inhuman as the sound ripped its way out of her vocal chords and not for the first time since their arrival in Neverland.

“Henry,” Regina called again, still unable to match Emma's angry shouts. She settled for an attempt at a more sane way of announcing their presence to their son.

“Mom!”

A flash of red hair disappeared in the water and flicked her tail before she submerged herself entirely. Then an echoed and somewhat watery, muddled jingle sounded and left Rumple, Henry, Emma, Regina, and Tinkerbell confused and speechless.

Pan laughed and confidently stood before the group with his Lost Boys spread out behind him.

“When I want something, I get it,” Pan said. “And I want Henry.”

 


	12. Chapter 12

Snow pushed past a few bushes and things and walked up to Charming as her husband mixed together a salve. She held out a handful of berries and added them to the bowl he used to mix the ingredients.

Hook came from the other direction with a near handful of other ingredients and gave them to Charming who added them into the mixing bowl. He watched Charming lift his left arm to take the ingredients and noticed no pain or other change in his demeanor. He withheld one of the ingredients and walked around Charming to stand on his other side. He nudged Charming's right shoulder and handed over the last ingredient.

Charming narrowed his eyes at Hook and suspiciously stared at him for a moment before he reached up to grab the ingredient. When he did, he cringed and almost stopped his hand mid-air to take a minute for reprieve. Instead, he only slowed his movement and pridefully pushed through the pain to yank the ingredient from Hook's only hand.

Thankfully for Charming, Snow hadn't caught the exchange. Unfortunately, the only reason she hadn't caught it was due to her shortness of breath as she sat down on the rock across from Charming. He hadn't realized her sudden silence until she was nearly doubled over and wheezing.

“Sno.! Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I'm fine. Keep working,” she breathlessly managed to say with a grimace.

Charming frowned with deep concern and continued to stare for a few minutes more. He didn't want to look away, he wanted to help her. He only looked down at the bowl used for the salve because he realized it was the key to saving her.

After what felt like an eternity, they had a salve to give the mermaid and called for her again with the sea shell. Hook grabbed the shell, but Charming quickly snatched it out of the pirate's hand when the other man sharply inhaled and readied himself to blow into the shell.

Hook puffed out a sigh to release the breath he'd sucked in while Charming blew into the shell and the three of the them waited for the mermaid to reappear.

She came sooner than the last time and her eyes were hopeful while she adorned a vile around her neck that she hadn't worn when they first called her.

“Do you have it,” the mermaid asked.

“Yes,” Charming said as he extended the salve to her.

The mermaid reached out for it, but Charming withdrew his hand and took a small step away from the water.

“What about the antidote,” he asked.

The mermaid touched the vile that was tied around her neck like rustic jewelry. She nodded and took off the makeshift necklace.

“On three,” Charming told her. “One, two...three.”

They handed over the salve and the vile at the same time and snatched one away from the other.

“Thank you,” the mermaid softly said.

“Thank _you_ ,” Charming replied with a quick nod. 

“Wait,” the mermaid called out after she inspected the salve and Charming turned to give Snow the vile. “You need a tear from me. A mermaid's tear has rejuvenating properties. It's the secret ingredient to the antidote and the only way to get it to work.”

Charming sighed and knelt down in front of the mermaid. He twisted off the top of the vile and held it out under the mermaid's eye.

“Good luck to you and your family,” she said only slightly louder than a whisper.

The mermaid blinked out a single tear and it glittered on its descent into the vile. The second the tear added to the clear colored antidote, she swam away in a hurry and flipped her reddish-orange tail when she dove back into the sea with the bowl pressed to her stomach.

The tear and the liquid in the vile swirled into a cloudy white mixture. Charming stared at it, impressed, then turned to his wife and gave her the vile.

Snow nervously sighed and looked at Charming for a fleeting moment before she tipped back the vile and gulped down the antidote.

With the vile emptied after she swallowed the antidote, the ground shook and a yelp sounded only a short distance from them.

Charming and Snow stared at each other with wide, worried eyes. Snow immediately dropped the vile and the two of them instinctively held hands as they charged in the direction of the yelp.

*** * ***

“You can't have him,” Rumple yelled at the demented boy who clearly ran the tragically managed island.

“Well, that's not for you to decide, is it,” Pan grinned.

Then, as if on cue, the Shadow appeared and loomed overhead.

“No,” Emma wildly yelled, more guttural and inhuman as the sound ripped its way out of her vocal chords and not for the first time since their arrival in Neverland.

“Henry,” Regina called again, still unable to match Emma's angry shouts. She settled for an attempt at a more sane way of announcing their presence to their son.

“Mom!”

A flash of red hair disappeared in the water and the mermaid flicked her tail before she submerged herself entirely. Then an echoed and somewhat watery, muddled jingle sounded and left Rumple, Henry, Emma, Regina, and Tinkerbell confused and speechless.

Pan laughed and confidently stood before the group with the Lost Boys spread out behind him.

“When I want something, I get it,” Pan said. “And I want Henry.”

Henry wiggled his way out of Rumple's hold while the imp focused all his bitter attention on Peter Pan. He ran straight toward Regina and his brunette mother hurried to meet him halfway.

Pan's shadow zoomed out overhead and went straight for Regina and Henry.

Emma's eyes widened and without a second though, she threw out her hands. At the same time, Tinkerbell pulled pixie dust out of nowhere and blew it in Regina and Henry's direction. A golden bubble formed around mother and son followed by a second wall of glimmering green.

The Shadow connected with the magical shield and bounced off it. It flickered like a flashlight running out of batteries and tried one more time to break through the barrier.

Regina held onto Henry and looked up to see the Shadow charge at them, but the contrast of the Shadow soon faded into a lighter transparency.

“No,” Pan angrily yelled then glared at Tinkerbell. “You. I should have gotten rid of you a long time ago.”

Tinkerbell smirked then stuck her tongue out at him.

Emma looked over at Tinkerbell – who, at that point, stood beside her – in shock.

Regina turned and stared back at the two blonde's whose magic currently protected her and Henry and she couldn't mask the amazement as well as the disbelief on her face. She clung tighter to Henry and pressed him almost suffocatingly against her chest as she continued to stare at Emma and Tinkerbell.

“Boys,” Pan called out to the Lost Boys.

All of the Lost Boys pulled out their weapons and waited for Pan's next action. When their leader motioned toward the fairy, the Boys all rushed toward her. Some fired off arrows with the tips dipped in Dreamshade while the others kept their swords at the ready.

Always the protector, Emma bit back her disdain for the other blonde and unsheathed Neal's sword to fend off the oncoming attack.

Tinkerbell touched Emma's shoulder as the other woman stood slightly in front of her then blew a little more pixie dust in front of them. Arrows halted against the sparkling dust and fell to the ground a few feet in front of Emma.

Charming, Snow, and Hook appeared out of the brush behind Emma and Tinkerbell. Immediately, Charming pulled his sword out and held it up at the ready. He squeezed Emma's shoulder, the one Tinkerbell hadn't occupied with her hand, and bravely stood in front of his daughter.

Hook came to stand by Snow, who always found her place beside Charming, and the entire group that had traveled to Neverland stood strong before Pan and his damaged Lost Boys with the added help of Tinkerbell.

Rumple drank in the sight before his features straightened out to a fatally determined expression. He was ready to fight and he seemed to know just how to do that if his steely gaze was anything to go by.

“You'll never win, Pan,” Rumple spat.

“I highly doubt that,” the boy cockily replied.

One of the Lost Boys turned his attention away from Tinkerbell and shot an arrow at Rumpelstiltskin.

Rumple held out his hand and waved it from left to right with a sinister grin spread across his face. He giggled like the Dark One and not at all like Mr. Gold when the arrow intended to hit him had slid away and crashed into the ground.

“The boy is definitely my undoing,” Rumple almost smugly said. “But it's not at all a bad undoing.”

Pan quizzically looked over Rumple and his expression showed his attempts to decipher what exactly the Dark One meant by that statement.

Emma, Tinkerbell, Charming, Snow, and, after a short moment, Hook, slowly closed the distance between themselves and Regina and Henry.

Both Regina and Henry still remained under Emma and Tinkerbell's magical protection and watched as the entire group came to stand near them, around them, with fiery and heroic expressions.

“We stand together,” Charming boldly said and projected his voice to ensure everyone heard him.

Emma slyly, proudly, grinned at that and tightened her grip around the hilt of her borrowed sword.

“Then you'll die together,” Pan said before he raised his arms out at his sides.

The Lost Boys lunged at the group in its entirety.

“Emma,” Regina quickly called out through the barrier. “Let us out.”

“I can't risk either of you being hit by those arrows,” Emma said as she glanced between the approaching Lost Boys and Regina.

“We'll be okay,” Regina insisted. “We have magic. _Our_ magic. I bet you and I combined...are strong enough to overpower Pan.”

Emma glanced back at the Lost Boys then to Pan before she worriedly settled her gaze on Regina again.

Regina, as well as anyone else that paid attention, saw the fear in Emma's eyes.

Emma looked down at Henry and faintly smiled at him similarly to the way she had smiled at Regina when the brunette had helped her and Mary Margaret out of the well in Storybrooke.

The barrier fell away and Henry lunged at Emma. He wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her. Emma quickly patted his back then pushed him to stand at her side.

Henry refused to let go even as Regina stepped up to stand beside Emma. He gripped the back of Emma's shirt as well as the back of Regina's purple jacket and stood between his two mothers.

Regina and Emma instinctively joined hands, their clasped hands at their sides in front of Henry.

“Know what you want,” Regina quickly tried to teach Emma more about magic to help them. “Know it and then want it more than anything. Feel what drives your magic and will yourself to protect whoever or whatever it is. Channel it outward. Feel your magic like you feel everything else.”

Arrows came at them and suddenly, Regina and Emma held out their free hands. Each of them deflected the arrows before Regina threw a few fireballs at the Lost Boys.

Rumple limped toward the family and used magic to protect himself on his way over to Emma, Regina, and Henry. He reached Henry just as a Lost Boy tried to attack the three of them from behind and made the boy's bow and arrow disappear. The weapon reappeared in Rumple's possession and he fired off a poisoned arrow at the Lost Boy. It hit the boy straight in the heart and the boy fell to his death.

Rumpelstiltskin spun around to face Pan and the rest of the Lost Boys and shot a second arrow at a high point in one of the trees. He hit one of Pan's traps, traps meant for those that didn't belong on his island like himself and Charming and Snow and Regina, and unleashed it on Pan and the boys.

Three Lost Boys were swept up in a huge net and hoisted in the air. Pan looked over his shoulder and witnessed the boys' capture. He growled and shot an infuriated glare at Rumple who wildly grinned at him in response.

Pan walked down the island hill he had stood on and made his way toward Rumple, Regina, Emma, and Henry with malicious intent expressed on his face.

Hook fought off one Lost Boy while Tinkerbell showed off her perfected defensive fighting skills against another Lost Boys.

Tinkerbell kicked the boy in the shin, punched him a few times – not expertly, but well enough to hurt him – and gained the upper hand in no time.

Charming slashed his sword at every Lost Boy that dared approach him while Snow aimed and shot arrows at the boys that had their own arrows, though theirs were poisoned.

Regina and Emma focused all their attention on Pan while the others worked to keep the Lost Boys away from them. Henry's eyes widened at the sight of the boy who hadn't looked much older than himself walk right toward them.

Splashes in the water didn't distract a single one of the large group, though there was activity at the shore. Mermaids leaped out of the water and threw starfish at various Lost Boys.

Swords clanged and scraped together in an ultimate battle for survival while arrows sliced through the air across a decent sized expanse of the island.

Pan pulled a small sword, one more like Neal's in size than Charming's, from his belt and wielded it much like one would handle a wand. Wisps of green magic collected in the reflective blade before he cut through the air as though he were fighting against an invisible object.

A strike of green shot out of the blade like a whip and nicked both Emma's shirt and part of Regina's jacket in one swift movement.

Rumple reached down and pulled his dagger out of his boot. He held it up to the sky and willed all of his power into the dagger. Red magic shot down like lightning and jolted into the dagger. It shook Rumple from head to toe as the dagger absorbed every bit of magic he could conjure. After a moment or two, the magic had been retained and the dagger glowed red before it returned to its normal silver and black etching.

Pan tried to attack with his sword again, but Rumple lashed out with his dagger and a burst of red energy hit Pan in the chest like a strong, solid punch. It forced Pan to stagger a few steps backward and he lowered his sword in a moment of weakness with his eyes cast down on the ground.

Henry immediately grabbed both Emma and Regina's wrists and squeezed.

Regina and Emma simultaneously gasped at the surprising contact. A white light emanated from their wrists where Henry's hands wrapped around their skin and neither one of them could deny the surge of power they felt. It was power that didn't come from either one of them and caused them both to look down at Henry, stunned.

Henry looked up at them, wide eyed only out of confusion and not shock. He hadn't seemed to feel what Emma and Regina had.

“What is _that_ ,” Emma breathlessly asked as she kept her eyes on Henry.

Regina gulped as she looked at Henry then up at Emma.

“The heart of the truest believer,” Regina answered just as breathlessly.

“Moms, look out,” Henry yelled as he looked at Pan.

Pan moved his sword to strike them again, but both Regina and Emma's attention snapped from their little moment to boy who threatened their son.

Regina and Emma projected not only their own magic outward, but also whatever Henry had just given them. They blasted Pan back with purple and blue sparks and the boy flew across the island.

The ground shook again, like it had before Emma and Regina heard the yelp that brought them to Henry, and everyone looked to see Pan hit the ground hard.

“Whoa,” Emma exclaimed. “Was that...?”

“Henry? It might have been,” Regina replied, still a little shocked.

“Wait, I have magic,” Henry asked.

“That is something we can discuss later,” Rumple said as he got their attention, all three of them. “For now, focus on stopping Pan.”

“And how do we do that,” Emma asked, skeptical of their abilities, combined or not.

“Whatever you did to stop the trigger,” Rumple started. “Do it again.”

Regina and Emma looked at each other for a moment before both of them came to a silent agreement. They looked around and saw some struggling, starfish covered Lost Boys along with their fighting family and acquaintances when, seconds later, a red charge burst against every Lost Boy and trapped them against several different trees in the area. Both women looked to Rumple behind them and saw him grit his teeth from his exertion.

“The time is now, dearies.”

Charming, Hook, Snow, and Tinkerbell all stopped fighting the instant the Lost Boys flew away from them and writhed beneath electric red bonds against the surrounding trees. They stared in shock and awe at Emma, Regina, Henry, and Rumple as the four of them stood out among the rest of them.

Again, Emma and Regina felt their magic course through them, but that time was different. Different not only because of Henry, but because of how they projected their magic together. A white glow continued to faintly light the place where Henry held on to both of his mothers while blue and purple sparks of magical electricity sizzled and crackled around Emma and Regina's joined hands.

Henry looked at the colors that bonded Emma and Regina together with wide eyes and a slack jaw, mouth agape. Though he always believed in magic, he felt that belief stronger than ever when he saw Emma and Regina create it together. It was something unlike anything he'd seen or read before and he knew in his heart, in his soul, and in his mind that they were a force greater than anyone could have predicted.

Regina and Emma gasped again at the feel of their combined magic before their eyes slipped closed and their bodies glowed with the color of their magic like two auras on display. Regina glowed purple and Emma glowed blue and a comforting warmth internally swept over and engulfed both of them.

Even the mermaids stayed to watch their magic work, the small band of five or ten mermaids and mermen n the water with amazed expressions on their faces.

Regina stood with her lips parted just before she started to gently convulse with the force of their magic, like she had when they were in the mines the day they stopped the trigger and saved the town.

Emma's breath hitched again and felt magic crackle at her fingertips like static shock and jolted once as a wave of Regina's magic melted into her bloodstream and swam through her veins.

Both women slowly opened their eyes as a thick, purple smoke flooded the ground around their feet and pulsed forward like a slowly rolling fog. When their eyes opened, Charming and Snow gasped. Tinkerbell's jaw dropped to the ground and Hook's eyes widened due to a few conflicting emotions. All were stunned into further silence in different ways, but they'd all seen the same thing.

Regina's irises glowed and sparked purple while Emma's glowed and sparked gold.

One long, baited second later, a white light burst out of them and shook the entire island as it knocked everyone to the ground.

Emma and Regina let go during the magical blast and flew several feet away from each other in opposite directions.

Henry fell backward and collided with Rumple who embraced him as they fell together to the ground.

Charming landed in a heap on top of Snow and Tinkerbell was thrown against a tree before she hit the ground face first. Hook impacted the ground with his ass before he slid a few feet through the dirt on his back and rolled onto his stomach due to the strength behind the sudden burst.

The Lost Boys that once were restrained against the trees had been released and then fell to the ground after the white light had flashed.

Already on the ground, Pan convulsed like a person being struck with defibrillator paddles to restart their heart when his faint Shadow burst into a dissipating puff of smoke like after a candle was blown out. The smoke rolled over him before some of it seeped back into his body, but he still remained stiff on the ground with his eyes closed even a minute later.

Everyone slowly worked out the kinks their violent falls to the ground gave them as they all clambered onto their feet. Charming was the first to get up and painfully helped Snow up next. Tinkerbell stood next and rubbed the back of her head after her rough collision with the tree.

Henry rolled off Rumple and pushed himself onto his feet after her. He turned back to look down at Rumple and helped the man sit up up as best he could. Once he sat up, Rumple let go of Henry's hand and slowly pushed himself off the ground. He stood up and stumbled a bit before he placed a hand on Henry's shoulder to brace himself. Henry used his strength to keep Rumple upright and succeeded with only a few staggering footsteps from the added weight of his grandfather.

After Rumple let go of Henry, once he could stand on his own, Henry looked around at everyone. The only ones that made it out of the blast were those who came to protect him, the mermaids and mermen included.

Ariel and her sister smiled as they saw the group on their feet then nodded at their own group. The band of mermaids and mermen swam away together, satisfied with the outcome.

Henry smiled as he panted, his breath shallow from the force of Emma and Regina's magic plus whatever he did to help them. Then, as he looked around again, his smile turned into a frown. Out of the group, his mothers were only ones to not get up. He looked from side to side in search of them and saw Regina first.

“Mom!”

Henry worriedly ran over to her as she laid on the ground to his left, closer to the water. He knelt down beside her and shook her back and forth with a hand pressed to her shoulder.

She groaned and slowly stirred. Her eyes fluttered open and she lolled her head to the side to acknowledge Henry's presence.

“Henry,” she hazily greeted him with a tired smile.

Regina reached out and brushed a hand through Henry's hair.

Henry widely and warmly smiled down at Regina.

“You're okay,” he happily said.

“Yes, I am.”

Charming, Snow, and Tinkerbell rushed over to Regina and Henry. Rumple, on the other hand, limped in the opposite direction while Hook groaned and finally got up much later than the others.

Snow got behind Regina and lifted her into a sitting position then Charming grabbed Regina's forearms and pulled her onto her feet.

Regina stumbled into Charming and even though he fought off his own pain, he held onto Regina and kept her standing.

Regina leaned into Charming's embrace until she slowly blinked away the fogginess in her head. After a moment, she regained enough strength to gently push away from Charming and stand on her own. 

“Thank you,” she quietly said before Henry jumped at her.

Henry wrapped his arms tightly around her waist like he had earlier with Emma.

Regina grunted when Henry rushed into her stomach and chest, but slowly wrapped her arms around him and returned the hug.

“That was awesome,” Henry said.

Regina smiled and tears welled up in her eyes. She didn't fight those tears for two reasons. One, she was still weak from the magic overload and two, she would never hide her love for Henry. Having him back and safe deserved tears of joy. She dipped her head and planted a kiss on the top of Henry's head as she held him against herself. She squeezed her eyes shut when she kissed him and a tear slipped down her cheek and into his hair. She brushed her fingers through the hair on the back of his head as she opened her eyes and looked up.

Her tears over joy stopped when her face slowly fell at the sight of Rumple across from them at a distance. He stood, bent at the waist, with his attention trained on a limp form with blonde hair. She gasped and immediately tensed.

Henry felt the change in Regina's demeanor and pulled away from her enough to look up at her. When he saw her face, he squirmed in her arms as her grip on him loosened and he turned to face what had Regina's attention. Within a few seconds, he saw Emma on the ground near Rumple and both of them ran toward her without a second thought.

“Mom,” Henry shrieked as he ran twice as fast as Regina to reach Emma.

Everyone quickly noticed what made Henry and Regina run toward Rumple and Charming and Snow didn't hesitate to follow their lead and run toward their daughter.

“Emma,” Snow called out in a broken voice as she fought back tears brought on by her overwhelming concern.

Henry collapsed beside Emma and tried to shake her awake like he had done to Regina.

Regina sank to her knees on the other side of Emma with Rumple hovering above her as he continued to look over the blonde. Rumple wasn't her concern however. Emma was.

“Mom! Wake up! Please, wake up,” Henry begged on the verge of tears. “Emma?”

Regina stroked a hand through Emma's hair and hoped Henry's attempts would wake the younger woman. A short time later, Emma still hadn't gotten up. Out of genuine care for the woman she'd fought alongside with to get their son back, she pressed a hand to Emma's chest. There was a faint heartbeat and she sighed with relief.

“Is she alive,” Charming quickly asked when he saw Regina sigh as a small smile lazily appeared on her face.

“Yes,” Regina replied. “Barely.”

“Then why are you smiling,” Snow angrily asked.

“Because I can fix it,” Regina said as she looked up at Emma's concerned parents.

“How,” Charming growled his disbelief.

Regina readjusted herself on the ground beside Emma and looked away from Charming. She didn't respond to him and instead focused on Emma. She cradled the other woman's head in her lap and pressed her hand more firmly against Emma's chest. She took a deep breath and as she slowly released it, her magic visibly flowed from her own chest down her right arm, through her hand, and into Emma. It was a faint purple, almost pink, flow of thin and wispy smoke that glowed when more of it went into Emma's chest.

A moment later, Regina pushed down on Emma's chest like a compression performed during CPR, but she only did it once. A burst of magic rippled into Emma and the blonde gasped as she blinked open her eyes a few times.

Emma panted as she stared at everything with wide eyes then looked up to see Regina directly above her.

“Welcome back,” Regina smiled.

Emma curled her lips into a goofy smile.

“Thanks,” Emma breathed out.

As they both stared at each other, lost in a moment together, they played the same memory through their heads at the familiarity of their words.

_Emma hadn't been able to catch her breath since she'd pulled herself out of the well after Regina had stopped the green glowing “death curse” from blocking her and Mary Margaret's return to Storybrooke._

“ _Your mom...she's a...piece of work, you know,” Emma asked as she held on to Henry who clung to her side._

“ _Indeed I do,” Regina responded as she heavily leaned against the tree behind her. “Welcome back.”_

“ _Thanks,” Emma breathed out with a smile before she dropped her head onto Henry's, her cheek pressed to the boy's hair._

“Well, now that Pan's defeated,” Hook said after a moment as he joined the group. “We should figure out a way back to Storybrooke.”

“Agreed,” Charming said.

Emma grunted and all eyes were on her again.

Henry had thrown himself on top of Emma who still sat propped up in Regina's lap. Henry wrapped an arm around Regina's lower back and held both of his mothers at the same time.

Regina rested a hand on Henry's back with a smile.

Emma groaned under Henry's weight, but chuckled at the family moment she'd never been able to have before Henry had dragged her back to Storybrooke with him. As she chuckled, she gently slapped a hand down on Henry's back and started to rub. She closed her eyes as her laughter subsided and she chose to focus on the goose bump inducing sensation of Regina's hand running through her hair.

Tinkerbell blinked several times as she stared down at Regina, Henry, and Emma. She took a moment to process the affectionate family embrace the three of them shared before she cleared her throat and redirected everyone's attention to herself.

“I might be able to help you open a portal,” Tinkerbell told the group before her eyes fell to Regina again.

Emma opened her eyes and looked up at Tinkerbell at the same time as Regina.

“You'd be willing to help us after all,” Regina incredulously asked, surprised.

“You got rid of Pan like I asked. I don't see why not. And it's not like I didn't help you before. Look who's back.”

Tinkerbell gave Henry a friendly smile when the boy turned to look up at her.

Henry smiled back.

“Why don't you come with us,” Snow quickly suggested.

Tinkerbell furrowed her brow and turned to Snow.

“Back to Storybrooke,” Snow added to clarify.

“I'm not sure that's a good idea,” Tinkerbell said before she looked down at Regina.

“There's plenty of room in town,” Regina casually said after a moment. “If you want to leave Neverland, I won't keep you from finding a home in Storybrooke.”

“You say that and it only makes me think you'll  _ tolerate  _ me being around, but you won't really welcome me,” Tinkerbell explained.

“There may be some issues we need to work through,” Regina said as she felt Henry give Emma space to move and the blonde tried to sit up. “But I think we can. If you want to try being friends, I'd be willing to give it a shot in Storybrooke.”

Regina gently pushed Emma up into a sitting position before Snow came over and pulled her daughter to her feet.

Emma smiled at Snow and Snow returned the smile with one equally as bright and warming.

Tinkerbell considered the group as she looked around at all of them. Her eyes settled on Regina before she answered.

“Okay,” Tinkerbell said. “Maybe this is  _ my  _ second chance.”

Snow smiled at Tinkerbell as she kept Emma in a half-hug pressed against her side.

“A second chance at happiness,” Snow asked.

Tinkerbell nodded.

“It's been a long time since I've even smiled,” Tinkerbell confessed.

“Alright,” Emma lightly said as she blew out a heavy sigh and regulated her breathing. “Let's go home.”

Charming proudly grinned at Emma for her words while Snow squeezed Emma and rubbed her arm with a smile before she let go.

“Where do we make the portal,” Hook asked as he picked at one of his nails with the point of his hook.

“Here. The water,” Regina answered. “I think I can direct us to one of my mirrors in Storybrooke.”

“And I can use the last bit of my pixie dust to open the portal,” Tinkerbell said.

“We're going home,” Henry fondly said after a moment as he looked out at the sea.

Regina and Emma looked down at him as the group headed toward the shore. They smiled at him as he walked between them toward the water and each of them set a hand on his shoulder.

“Home,” Emma warmly and smoothly said like hot chocolate on a cold winter day.

They all stopped at the shoreline and Tinkerbell and Regina stepped in front of everyone else. Regina hesitated before she waved her hand over the water and recreated the image of one of her floor length mirrors that she kept in her family mausoleum. The water rippled with a picture of the inside of the mausoleum and she grinned.

Tinkerbell dug into the pocket of her short, green dress and produced a small amount of pixie dust. She sprinkled it over the water's surface and the image of the mausoleum shimmered with silver and gold speckles created by the enchanted dust. She stepped back and took one of Regina's hands in hers then looked over at Regina with a smile.

Regina smiled back before she took one of Henry's hands in hers and he grabbed Emma's hand.

Emma took Snow's hand and Snow took Charming's hand while Charming reluctantly held out his hand for Hook.

Hook smirked at Charming's discomfort then looked at the remaining member of the group.

Rumple.

He glared at the man and his anger was returned with equal force. Begrudgingly, they moved closer to each other and Rumple gripped Hook's forearm a couple of inches above the pirate's hook.

A few of them took deep breaths before they all started to take one step after the other into the water.

When the water reached most of their shoulders, Tinkerbell looked at Regina one last time. She admired the woman's hair and remembered how it used to look when it was long. She openly gazed at Regina's dark and alluring eyes that in that moment were filled with happiness. Several thoughts of Regina flashed through her mind before the group submerged themselves in the sea. A ring of white blasted out from the water when everyone's heads had dunked under the water and the shimmering stopped just as the image of the mausoleum disappeared.

Before anyone knew it, the group felt the blast and lurched forward through the other side of the portal.

A rush of water pushed through a grand mirror and flooded hard, marble floors. Tinkerbell surfed through the mirror in a wave of water first followed by Regina and so on. They surged through the portal in a line, but as soon as each of them passed through the mirror they let go of the person in front of them.

They all tumbled out of the mirror and landed in a tangle of limbs on the floor while the water came through the mirror behind them like a strong waterfall.

Everyone coughed and tried to squirm and crawl away from each other. Emma and Regina gravitated toward Henry while Charming and Snow found each other and tried to get to Emma. The five of them eventually ended up together with Tinkerbell nearby on one side of the room.

Regina quickly waved her hand in the mirror's direction when she counted heads and knew that everyone had come through the portal. Her magic sealed the portal and the roughly flowing water stopped as reflective glass solidified in the mirror's frame.

They all wiped the water out of their eyes enough for them to take in their surroundings.

Regina frowned at the strangely familiar yet long since thought about feeling of the marble beneath her and looked down at the pattern on the floor. Her eyes widened when she recognized the cracked marble.

“Damn,” Regina said.

“What? What is it,” Emma asked as she sat, confused, with Henry in between them.

Snow and Charming followed Regina's eye line and inspected the floor. It took them a few seconds before they reached the same conclusion.

“How did this happen,” Snow asked.

Regina shook her head.

“What happened,” Henry curiously asked.

Snow and Charming looked up at Regina. With his eyes focused solely on Regina, Charming answered Henry.

“We're back in the Enchanted Forest.”

 


	13. Chapter 13

“How are we here,” Snow asked as she looked around the room.

“We're back,” Tinkerbell asked, shocked they'd landed in the Enchanted Forest.

“Regina, what did you do,” Snow practically shrieked.

“I didn't do this,” Regina angrily argued.

“You were the only one in control of where we went,” Charming said.

“And I thought about my family mausoleum,” Regina defended herself.

“Past or present day,” Charming quipped as he tried to belittle her ability to do the one thing they trusted her to do.

Regina scoffed, offended, and glared at Charming.

“This isn't my fault. However we got here, I didn't do it,” Regina said.

“However we got here doesn't really matter, does it,” Tinkerbell asked. “We're here and it's not like we can change that.”

All eyes fell on Tinkerbell.

“What did you do, Tink,” Regina warningly asked.

“Nothing,” Tinkerbell quickly insisted. A little too quickly.

“Did you alter the portal's destination,” Regina asked.

“I...I didn't mean to,” Tinkerbell shyly said like a young child in trouble that feared their punishment.

Regina sighed.

“Okay. So,” Snow started. “We ended up in the Enchanted Forest. That's okay. We'll be okay. Emma and I were here before.”

“Yeah,” Emma said, her eyes wide in realization. “Mulan and Aurora are here too. Maybe they can help us get back to Storybrooke. ...If we don't run into any ogres on the way.”

“Well,” Snow said as she tipped her head to the side in contemplation. “There's no rush, is there? I mean, this is where we wanted to go after the curse broke and we even tried to get magic beans to take us here. ...Why not stay?”

“Uh, because _I_ don't want to be here,” Emma said.

“Oh, Emma,” Snow smiled. “We can live the way we were supposed to before Regina cast the curse.”

“You mean I can be a Princess,” Emma flatly said, uninterested.

“You already are a Princess,” Charming informed her. “Since birth.”

Emma rolled her eyes.

“Maybe in fairy tale titles alone, but I am _no_ Princess,” Emma stated.

“That I agree with,” Regina muttered under her breath, but loud enough for everyone to hear her.

Snow and Charming started to fire off defensive statements left and right to argue with Regina, but Emma chose that moment to look over at Henry who shook like a leaf.

Emma scrambled closer to Henry and immediately wrapped her arms around him.

“Hey, are you okay,” Emma soothingly asked, her maternal instincts kicking in for the first time since Henry found her in Boston.

“Y-y-yeah,” Henry stuttered through chattering teeth. “Ju-ust c-c-cold.”

Regina shook her head at something Snow said and her eyes found Henry in Emma's arms. Instantly, she forgot about her enemy and went to her son.

“Henry?”

“He's freezing,” Emma said as she held him tightly to her.

Regina started rubbing his back and arms to try and warm him up.

“We need to get him some blankets or something,” Regina said. “We can take him to my old bedchamber. There's a fireplace there.”

“Okay,” Emma said as she worked with Regina to lift Henry.

Emma scooped him up in her arms and he hurriedly latched on with his arms around her neck.

Regina stayed close by as she guided the blonde out of the room and into the hallway.

“What's wrong,” Charming immediately asked as he and Snow started to follow Emma and Regina out of the room.

“Borderline hypothermia,” Regina shortly explained. “We'll take care of it.”

Tinkerbell watched Regina and Emma take Henry out into the hall and looked down at the ground, a little sad and partially hurt, when she saw Regina place a hand on Emma's lower back.

Everyone watched the two of them leave with Henry then looked around at each other in the large, barren – except for the mirror – room. None of them looked too thrilled to be in each other's company and a thickly tense, awkward silence filled the room.

Regina brought Emma into her long since thought about bedchamber.

Upon entry, Emma saw the fireplace and carried Henry over to it.

Regina strayed from Emma and conjured a fireball in her palm. She wasted no time and threw it at the logs. Instantly, the logs lit up with strong, warm flames.

Emma sat down on the rug in front of the fireplace with Henry still in her arms.

Again, Regina relied on her magic and conjured a heavy blanket. She rushed to Emma's side and sat down on the rug beside her. She immediately wrapped the blanket around Henry and hugged him from behind while he laid with his back to her in Emma's arms.

Regina leaned in and rested her cheek on Henry's shoulder, water dripping from Henry's wet hair. She felt Emma's arm pressed against her ribs just beneath her chest when she gripped Henry in a motherly embrace.

Henry shivered in both of their arms and Emma and Regina held on tighter.

“I-I-I'm h-hungry,” Henry said with chattering teeth. “H-hav-en't ea-ten in...days.”

Both Emma and Regina cringed at that. A second later, Regina turned her head and pecked a kiss on Henry's cheek.

Not even a minute later, Regina had a cheeseburger from Granny's in her hand.

“Here,” Regina offered him the cheeseburger.

Henry reached out with a shaky hand and accepted the burger.

Emma and Regina tensely watched Henry tremor through his first bite before the blonde spoke up.

“There's got to be a faster way to do this,” Emma looked over Henry's head at Regina.

Regina popped up enough to look over Henry's head as well and locked eyes with Emma. Her eyes slightly widened in realization.

“There is.”

Without any explanation, Regina crawled in front of Emma and Henry and grabbed Emma's free hand. A wave of magic flowed through their physical bond.

Emma's body instantly warmed at the touch in a superhuman way that suggested Regina's magic was to blame for the comforting heat.

“Mimic me,” Regina said as she continued to send heat into Emma's hand then touched Henry with the other.

Henry's cheeks gained a more natural color and his eyes slipped closed in his relaxed state.

Emma felt and accepted the heat that coursed through her body thanks to Regina's hand in hers. She then used her body as a host and harvested not only Regina's warmth but her own as well. Her skin started to glow before her entire body lit up with a red and golden yellow aura-like illumination.

Regina proudly grinned at the light that faintly surrounded the blonde and its positive effect on their son.

“Whoa,” Emma breathed out no louder than a whisper.

Regina's grin melted into a smile and she leaned in as she kept one hand on Henry and the other in Emma's hand. She closed her eyes and pressed her forehead to Emma's.

Emma, at first, kept her mouth agape in shock then blinked and smiled in a way she hadn't since the day she rescued Henry from the mines after Regina said, “Just...bring him to me.”

The sound of Henry chewing on the greasy cheeseburger pulled Emma and Regina out of their indescribable moment and both mothers turned to look at him. Both of them chuckled as he ungracefully scarfed down a little more than half of the cheeseburger in a few bites.

“What,” Henry asked through a full mouth of food.

“We missed you,” Emma replied.

“We love you,” Regina added.

Henry beamed up at them, still in Emma's arms between his two mothers.

“I love you both, too,” Henry said after he swallowed his most recent bite.

The glow around Emma faded and both women leaned in at the same time. They both pecked one of Henry's cheeks and made the boy scrunch up his face in slight disgust.

“Yuck, I'm eleven. I don't need my moms kissing me on the cheek like that,” he said as he wiped one of the kisses away with the wet sleeve of his plaid shirt then repeated the action for the other kiss.

“We just got you back,” Emma started. “We'll kiss you as motherly and as embarrassingly as we want even if you _are_ eleven.”

“That I can agree with,” Regina said, both her and Emma's eyes locked on Henry.

“Hey, can one of you check my right leg,” Henry asked. “I want to make sure the antidote worked 'cause it kind of itches.”

Regina and Emma frowned.

“Antidote,” Regina tentatively asked him.

“Yeah, I got hit with an arrow when I tried to run away from Pan. Grandpa got the antidote for me from Ariel.”

“Ariel's _alive_ ,” Emma asked with wide eyes.

“Yeah,” Henry said as he scrunched up his face and reached down to scratch his calve where he's been hit with the arrow.

“Grandpa as in Rumpelstiltskin,” Regina nervously and skeptically asked.

“Yeah. Gramps is Charming, Grandpa is Rumpelstiltskin,” Henry clarified as he continued to scratch, his face less twisted up in discomfort than it had been seconds ago.

Then Emma and Regina noticed Henry's insistent scratching and simultaneously reached for his pant leg. Regina grabbed the bottom of the pant leg first when she let go of Emma's hand and pulled the jeans up to Henry's knee. The skin where Henry had been scratching was red and irritated.

“It seems like the antidote worked,” Regina said. “There isn't any poison blackening the veins like it had with Snow. Just looks like a little rash.”

Henry groaned.

“I hate rashes,” Henry whined.

“Why? Put some lotion on it two or three times a day for the next couple days and it goes away,” Emma shrugged.

“Not with Henry,” Regina tiredly said.

Henry nodded his head in agreement.

“What do you mean,” Emma asked.

“He used to get rashes a lot when he was little,” Regina started.

“I needed special ointment that I had to keep putting on all week and I'd get fevers.”

“Nasty rashes,” Emma concluded.

“Yeah,” Henry gravely conceded.

“Well, we can get that ointment back in Storybrooke, right? Not a big deal.”

“Except we're not _in_ Storybrooke,” Regina argued.

“And I kinda want to stay here,” Henry piped up.

“What,” Emma and Regina asked, not entirely surprised but definitely not pleased with his comment.

“I thought that's what was going to happen when Gramps and the dwarfs and Anton were growing the magic beans. I really wanted to see what it's like here. I still do.”

Regina and Emma sighed in defeat.

“What about the rash,” Emma asked.

“I can make a homemade version of the ointment here,” Regina blandly said. “Shouldn't be too difficult. It just won't be as helpful as the one we could get back home.”

“So...we can stay here with Grandma and Gramps,” Henry asked, hopeful.

“Is that what you want,” Regina asked.

Henry nodded.

Regina sympathetically looked at Emma and the two silently communicated their uneasiness about the idea, but also the need to make their son happy.

Emma nodded to signal Regina that she would stay. Regina looked at her with acceptance before she focused once again on Henry.

“Then we'll stay,” Regina told him.

“Yes,” Henry victoriously hissed.

Emma looked sad and unsatisfied with the agreement, but when she looked up at Regina again she knew it had been the right decision no matter how she truly felt about it.

Regina flashed a brief, halfhearted smile at Emma to show the blonde she understood the sacrifice Emma was making to stay in a land she didn't know and didn't feel comfortable in. She decided not to share any of her own concerns about staying in the Enchanted Forest and tried to keep Emma calm with a mask of indifference.

*** * ***

A new realm meant new sleeping arrangements. Though the Summer Palace had several guest chambers, it barely accommodated the traveling group of eight. There were five chambers, not including Snow's and Regina's, that were thankfully not too severely harmed by the enactment of the dark curse. Seven in total. Snow and Charming settled into their chamber while Regina kept Henry in hers. Emma stayed in the chamber closest to Regina and Henry while Hook stayed down the hall and Rumple stayed in a chamber at the complete opposite end, away from the pirate.

Tinkerbell took the second closest room to Regina, the chamber next to Emma's. She was the last to claim a room and because of that, she was stuck beside the other blonde. Not that she minded since it made Emma slightly angry. With Tinkerbell being so close to Regina, it appeared like she wanted to try her luck with the brunette. Which wasn't exactly a lie, though she saw how Emma and Regina had been together before they'd found Henry and used their joint magic to kill Pan and escape.

It had been a while since anyone had gotten enough rest without having to worry about Henry, though, so Emma quickly dismissed the rush of jealousy that flashed across her features. She, along with everyone else, retreated to their chambers and called it a day.

And yet, Emma couldn't sleep. She knew her son was safe with Regina in the next room, but something still kept her tossing and turning. She felt herself vibrating with magic and images of the last few days in Neverland played through her mind like a montage sequence in a movie. Everything seemed surreal once she found herself back in the Enchanted Forest, a place she hadn't appreciated the first time around. She hardly managed to adapt after the curse broke when she'd been sucked into the portal that dropped her off in the land she'd been born in.

Emma huffed out a sigh as she flipped onto her side for umpteenth time in the last hour, though who could tell what time it was in the Enchanted Forest? Anyone with a sundial would be Emma's guess.

But Emma didn't use sundials or even makeshift sundials. She may have been late to a lot of things in her life, but at least she knew she was late with phone clocks and wrist watches. Using the sun's position in the sky to tell time was not something Emma Swan could or would do. Ever.

None of that mattered though. All Emma knew was that she couldn't sleep and it was dark outside. Dark meant nighttime, which usually meant sleep. And she was wide awake.

It was her restlessness that drove her out of the odd and surprisingly uncomfortable bed – because royalty in the Enchanted Forest apparently liked their beds a little too soft for Emma's liking – and into the bedchamber only the distance of a short walk through the grand hallway.

As though she were pulling off a particularly tricky heist, Emma slipped through the doorway and crept into the chamber without making a sound. She padded across the marble floor until she stood beside the Queen size bed.

Emma stared down at the two sleeping forms and felt a weight lift off her shoulders, one she hadn't known she'd carried. She sighed in relief and smiled.

It was the first sound she made, and not a very loud one at that, but it seemed to be loud enough for Regina to immediately pop her eyes open.

Emma defensively and apologetically raised her hands and took a step back, away from the bed.

“Sorry,” Emma whispered. “Didn't mean to wake you.”

Regina had an arm draped over Henry's chest as the boy slept with his back to her.

He'd been changed into more Enchanted Forest appropriate attire due to Regina's magic. He was also completely warm and dry by the time Regina had escorted him back to her bedchamber for the night.

Regina stared up at Emma and still hadn't said anything. She looked up at the blonde with a straight face, no anger or frustration shown in her eyes or any other feature of hers. She just stared, almost as if she were assessing Emma's reason for being there.

And she had been.

Regina's expression went from slightly quizzical to accepting of the other woman's presence, but she didn't move an inch.

“I couldn't sleep,” Emma started again as she anxiously shifted from foot to foot, still whispering.

“He's okay,” Regina assured her.

“I know. Well, I mean, I _knew_ before I came in here, but I...I had to see for myself, you know,” Emma asked, her voice a little louder.

Regina nodded, which mussed her hair from her sideways position on the bed with her head on the pillow.

“Um,” Emma awkwardly started as she averted her gaze. “Now that I've seen him I guess I should...go.”

Emma pointed toward her bedchamber through the wall of Regina's bedchamber before she started to make her way back to the door.

“Hey,” Regina quietly called out before Emma made it too far.

Emma turned back and looked right at Regina as the brunette let go of Henry and rolled onto her back then propped herself up on one elbow.

“Hey,” Emma said as she tensed her shoulders and slid her hands into her jean pockets, still wearing her typical white tank top and dark jeans.

“When Henry was really little, the first year or so he'd been in my life,” Regina started. “I used to check on him constantly throughout the night. Even if I didn't hear him crying on the baby monitor, I still went into his room to make sure he was still breathing. Some nights seeing him still wasn't enough.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Would you sleep better if you stayed here with him?”

Emma shrugged.

“Maybe.”

“I need you to be sure,” Regina said.

Emma furrowed her brow.

“Why would you need me to be sure?”

Regina rolled her eyes.

Even in the dark, Emma still saw the action and fought to conceal a smirk at her consistent ability to frustrate the other woman.

“There's enough room in this bed for you if you're sure staying with Henry will help you like it's helping me. Or at least it _was_ helping before you came in.”

That time Emma didn't suppress her smirk.

After a short moment, Emma walked over to Regina's side of the bed and slipped under the covers behind the brunette.

“Thank you,” Emma said once she was settled.

“Just keep your hands off me this time,” Regina grumbled as she resumed her original position on her right side with her left arm draped over Henry in a loose but protective hold.

“And yet _you_ were the one with your head on my chest practically _on_ _top_ of me,” Emma teased.

Regina's only response was to hum in aggravation.

Emma turned onto her left side with her back to Regina. She curled her body just a little bit, but it was enough for her backside to press against Regina's.

Neither said another word as they fell asleep within the next few minutes.

*** * ***

Charming groaned under his breath as he struggled to find a comfortable way to sleep. He looked under his shirt and inspected his side where he'd been grazed by a poisonous arrow. The black poison continued to spread through his veins and had traveled further up toward his chest. It threatened to pump through his veins into his heart and though he was no expert in Dreamshade, he didn't think the poison spreading to his heart would be a good thing.

He groaned again, a little louder that time, as he sat up and threw his legs over the side of his and Snow's old bed. He gripped the sheets at the very edge of the bed until his knuckles turned white and tried to regulate his shallow breathing.

Snow felt the movement and heard the discomfort from her husband. She started to stir and turned to look over her shoulder at Charming. When she saw him sitting up, hunched over his side of the bed, she sat up as well and placed a hand on his back.

“David? Is everything alright?”

“Yeah,” he gravelly said, his voice low and somewhat groggy from his previous attempts to sleep. “Go back to sleep. I'll be fine.”

“Are you sure,” she asked, her voice riddled with concern.

“Yeah, I'm just gonna take a walk around. It's been a little hectic in Neverland so I guess settling down again is an adjustment.”

Snow paused to consider his answer. After a moment, she sighed and nodded.

“Okay.”

Snow rubbed his back a few times then squeezed his shoulder before she laid back down facing away from Charming.

Charming stood and headed for their chamber door. He slowly exited the chamber and discretely went into the hallway. Halfway down the hall to a destination he hadn't had in mind, a familiar, accented voice startled him.

“Hiding something from the Misses, are we,” Hook asked from a dark corner of the hallway.

Charming jumped in surprise and looked over at Hook.

“What the hell are you doing out here,” Charming asked in hushed anger to mask his startled reaction to Hook's appearance.

“I've slept in many a bad environment, but my chambers smell like ash, dark magic, and death. It's very hard to relax when you're stuck in a room that's been torn apart by the Evil Queen and left unattended for nearly three decades.”

“Fine. What's that have anything to do with me?”

“It's as I suspected, is it not,” Hook asked.

“I don't know what you're talking about.”

“Ah, that isn't the truth now, is it. You're hiding something from the others, something that's causing you pain and something I believe you could have fixed back in Neverland.”

Charming glared at Hook and kept quiet.

“That discontent look on your face says I'm right,” Hook smugly said before his lips stretched into a grin.

“Whatever you _think_ you know, you're wrong,” Charming sneered as he resumed his trek down the hall and walked past Hook.

“So you weren't grazed by an arrow that's infected you with the Dreamshade poison,” Hook asked when Charming had his back turned to him.

Charming froze in place and hesitated before he turned around to face Hook once again.

“And the truth is revealed,” Hook said, satisfied and overly pleased by the silent answer provided by Charming's actions.

“How did you know?”

“Well, when Ariel's sister said she could only give one out of two vials of antidote to us, you made a face. Then I thought back and remembered something I hadn't given much thought to. After you came back looking for Henry and Snow had been hit with an arrow herself, you confessed to having been grazed by one. It's simple math. Even a lowly pirate like myself could piece it together.”

Charming looked around to ensure the two of them were still alone before he focused on Hook again and pointed a warning finger at the one-handed pirate.

“You will tell _no one_ about this,” Charming commanded.

“Why not share the fatal news with your family? I'm sure they'd want to know...at least to say their goodbyes.”

“If I can find another cure, they'll never have to know,” Charming argued.

“Are you sure you can find just that?”

“There's at least one thing I can think of that might help.”

“Then by all means, try it. But I can assure you that Emma and your wife might take issue if it doesn't work and you didn't tell them about this before your untimely death.”

“They're _my_ family, not yours. I'll deal with this however I feel is necessary.”

“Alright, mate. Just don't say I didn't warn you,” Hook said with his hand and hook raised defensively before he slipped away from Charming and headed back to his room.

Once Hook was out of sight, Charming breathed heavily and tried to take deep breaths to regain composure. He pushed his hand against his chest and hoped his theory about a second cure would work.

*** * ***

The morning sunlight streamed into Regina's bedchamber through the balcony window left partially uncovered by the large, slightly askew drapes.

Busy with Henry and his health, Regina hadn't bothered to fix the disorder of her old chambers. Not much needed fixing, but the room wasn't exactly up to the Evil Queen, let alone Mayor Mills', standards.

When the sun caught some of Regina's desk mirror at an angle the higher it rose in the sky, Emma stirred. She started to stretch and squeeze her eyes shut tighter to block out the glare caused by the sun on the mirror, but for the second time since she'd left Storybrooke she felt limited in movement.

Emma blinked open her eyes several times before she looked down at the weight across her torso. Once the sleep haze cleared from her vision, she noticed not one but two bodies that trapped her in the bed.

Somehow, Henry had maneuvered his way between his two mothers and rested his head on Emma's shoulder and clavicle. The weight on her torso belonged to Regina's right arm slung over her waist and sandwiched Henry between them.

Regina's nose was close enough to the back of Henry's head that Emma believed she could smell him every time she inhaled.

How they had managed to get in a position like that stumped Emma entirely, especially since she hadn't felt anything last night. Or at least she didn't remember feeling anything.

Emma reached down and tapped Regina's wrist and hand and turned her head to the side to watch the brunette's reaction.

Regina furrowed her brow, but didn't open her eyes. She growled and swatted at the tapping hand.

Emma waited a few seconds then tapped Regina's forearm.

“Stop,” Regina grumbled, her eyes still closed.

Emma didn't stop, however.

Regina quickly swatted the hand away again, but that time made sure the hand couldn't hit her any more. Regina twisted her own hand around and pinned Emma's hand to the bed. Without much thought, she laced their fingers together.

Emma stared down at their joined hands then turned back to Regina.

“Mom,” Henry groaned as squirmed between Emma and Regina.

Henry buried his face into the bed above Emma's shoulder while Emma looked over his head and saw chocolate brown eyes focused on her.

“Morning,” Emma greeted.

“Mm,” Regina hummed.

Emma smiled.

“Guys,” Henry groaned again, that time into the bed and Emma's shoulder. “Go back to sleep. I don't want to get up yet.”

Regina smiled at him while Emma chuckled. Emma used her free hand, the one closest to Henry, and poked him in the side.

“Stop,” Henry grumbled just like Regina.

Emma laughed and poked him again.

“Emma,” Regina warned with a hint of laughter in her voice.

“Mom,” Henry groaned longer and louder than his previous grumble.

“Which one,” Emma asked, though she already knew the answer. “If we don't know which one you're talking to, we won't know what exactly you're unhappy about.”

“You,” Henry said as he waved his hand around to swat Emma's hand away from him. “Stop poking me!”

“Okay,” Emma casually and quickly said before she rolled over and laid on top of him.

“Ah,” Henry yelled when he felt Emma's weight bore down on him. “No! Get off me.”

Emma laughed again with her face only about an inch above Regina's.

Regina looked from Henry to Emma and almost dreamily stared up into green eyes.

“Nope,” Emma responded to Henry. “I'm kind of comfortable here.”

Emma maneuvered one arm beside Regina's head, between the brunette and Henry. The hand still entwined with Regina's rested partially on the brunette's side when Regina had rolled halfway onto her back.

“Mom, make her get off me,” Henry cried out with his face almost completely smashed into the bed.

“Mm, I'll have to think about it,” Regina said as she kept her eyes locked on Emma.

Emma smirked down at Regina and before either of them could give it a second thought, or even had time to process what was happening, Emma leaned in and rested her forehead against Regina's.

Regina moved their joined hands to the bed with her hand pressed to the bed by Emma's.

Emma tilted her head and positioned her lips above Regina's all the while maintaining eye contact with the captivating woman under her.

Henry wriggled around under Emma a little more violently until he thrashed his way onto his back. His new position gave him enough space to do what he wanted since it caused Emma to only hover instead of crush him beneath her. He reached up and pushed her left side hard enough to knock her over.

Emma sharply inhaled just before she pressed her lips to Regina's, but the second she felt the other woman's soft and plump lips on her own lips, Henry shoved her aside.

Their joined hands slid further across the bed until they reached the edge while Emma landed on her right side on top of Regina. Their hipbones collided and both grunted upon impact, but Emma erupted into a fit of laughter as she rolled onto her back.

Regina chuckled as she flattened herself completely on her back on the bed when Emma rolled over on her. She felt Emma's backside rest diagonally against her pelvic bone and did nothing to change their new position.

Henry pushed Emma's legs away from him toward the foot of the bed just enough for him to get out from under her. He sat up for a split second before he knelt over both his mothers' sides, though Emma's side crisscrossed with Regina's body.

“Ha,” Henry started. “Beat you!”

Regina and Emma disentangled their hands.

Emma rested her own hand on her stomach while Regina placed hers on her ribs under her breasts.

“Yeah,” Emma said. “You got me. You won.”

“No,” Henry shook his head. “Winning looks like this.”

Henry turned half his body, still kneeling on the bed, before he carelessly fell back and landed across both Emma and Regina. His back and butt thumped against Regina's side and stomach while his shoulder blades and head slammed down on Emma's ribs and chest. Henry's head hit just above Emma's breasts and his hair tickled Emma's chin, the back of his head pressed to Emma's collarbone.

“Damn, Henry. What have you been eating,” Emma asked. “You weight _a lot_ more than I remember.”

“Hey, are you calling me fat?”

Regina chuckled and her stomach's movement gently shook both Emma and Henry.

“I might be,” Emma replied.

“Well, if I'm fat it's only because you feed me burgers and fries and milkshakes and cookies and-”

“Alright, I get it,” Emma said with a small laugh. “You're fat and it's my fault.”

“Mom,” Henry whined as he turned to Regina.

“Emma, stop calling him fat. He's a perfectly healthy boy,” Regina came to Henry's defense. “Although, you really should stop feeding him all that junk.”

“But I'm the 'fun Mom'. I'm _supposed_ to spoil him while you do all the disciplining and lecturing,” Emma playfully argued.

“And that needs to change,” Regina said. “You keep wanting to either spend more time with Henry or take a majority of custody of him and yet you refuse to accept the responsibilities of a parent.”

“Fine. Less fun, more long lecturing.”

“I do not _lecture_.”

“You kinda do,” Henry chimed in with a smile.

Regina rolled her eyes with a slight smile, but she didn't seem too content to have both Emma and Henry team up against her, especially since she already had a bad experience with that when Emma first came to town.

“You'd better watch what you say,” Regina warningly pointed at Henry. “I'll make Emma feed you only the healthy foods from now on and you'll soon forget what chocolate tastes like.”

Emma chuckled and looked from the top of Henry's head over to Regina.

Henry's eyes were wide with horror.

“You wouldn't,” he stated.

“Oh, believe me I _would_ ,” Regina confirmed Henry's fear.

“Even after everything that just happened?”

“Yes, even considering all that,” Regina replied.

“Mom,” Henry twisted as much as he could on top of Emma to look at his blonde mother, asking her with just her title as “Mom” to help him out.

“Now it's my turn to defend you? I don't think so, kid,” Emma said.

“Not fair. How am I supposed to get away with stuff if you two are a 'united front' all of a sudden,” he pouted.

“Mm, you don't,” Emma said.

“Which makes you lucky,” Regina added.

“Right,” Henry sarcastically agreed. “ _How_ am I lucky?”

“Because you have two moms who would do anything for you,” Emma said. “I didn't even have _one_ growing up let alone the Evil Queen and the Savior.”

“And let me be the one to tell you,” Regina started. “It wasn't easy getting here.”

“What did you have to do to find me,” he asked.

“Battle evil mermaids, the infamous and seriously demented Ursula, some nasty Lost Boys, and a smug Peter Pan,” Emma rattled off their adventures.

“You fought _Ursula_?”

“She's not as fun a villain as she is in the movie,” Regina said.

“What _is_ a fun villain,” Emma asked, not hurt or angry, but teasingly curious.

“Me,” Regina grinned at her.

Emma and Henry laughed in unison.

“You two think that's funny,” Regina asked, her tone baiting though neither Emma or Henry were in trouble.

“Yeah,” Henry said as his laughter lessened but didn't completely subside.

“I wonder if you'll find humor in _this_ ,” Regina said as she reached out and started tickling Henry's feet.

“No,” Henry shouted before he burst into a fit of uncontrollable giggles. “Mom, stop!”

Henry tried to sit up and flee, but Emma quickly wrapped both arms around his waist and held him close to her.

“Oh, no you don't,” Emma said with a smile and restrained him.

“Not. Fair,” Henry repeated his words from earlier only that time louder and as firmly as he could manage to speak while Regina relentlessly tickled him.

“Maybe not,” Emma panted when she struggled to hold him as he flailed around and tried to buck away from both mothers. “But it's entertaining for us.”

Henry rolled back and forth and made no progress in getting away from Emma or Regina.

All of Henry's rolling around caused Emma to jerk against Regina and the three of them were jostled on the bed in a somewhat domino effect.

“Mom,” Henry laughed as he wildly kicked to move his feet away from Regina's hands. “Mom!”

Regina and Emma laughed at Henry's pleas.

Emma rolled herself and Henry closer to Regina and crushed Henry on his side against Regina's upper body. He was almost sandwiched between both mothers while the tickling persisted and his constant movements started to put pressure on Regina's ribs.

When he accidentally kneed her in the ribs, Regina finally let up with her tickle attack.

Henry stopped laughing and inhaled air like a fish gasping when out of water. He coughed a few times and leaned against Emma, his back more firmly pressed to her front as he used her for support.

“I'm happy you two aren't fighting, but I think it's only going to be less fun for me,” Henry breathlessly said.

“Thanks,” Emma sardonically said as she patted Henry's arm with him slouched against her.

“Well, right now it's less fun for _me_ ,” Regina said. “One of you is sitting on my bladder and the other is making it hard to breathe.”

Emma lightly laughed and rolled onto her back to place herself in her original position on top of Regina. She pulled Henry with her just enough to push him off Regina. When she did, Regina let out a sigh of physical relief.

Just then, with Henry sitting in the bed facing Emma and Regina, the chamber doors opened and Snow stood in the doorway.

“I heard Henry yelling. Is everything okay,” Snow asked as she took a tentative step inside the chamber.

Snow's eyes found Henry first then slid over to the left and noticed her daughter laying sideways across her former stepmother's hips and upper thighs. She blinked a few times at the sight, visibly taken aback.

“I'm fine, Grandma,” Henry assured her from his place beside his mothers on the bed, his ankles tucked under himself.

“Oh,” Snow said as she readjusted her focus and looked over at Henry again. “Okay.”

“My mom tickled me and Emma held me down. That's all,” Henry explained.

Snow warmly smiled at Henry.

“Okay then,” Snow said as she looked at Henry then at Emma and Regina. “I'm about to look for breakfast. If either one of you would want to come with me, I'm leaving in a few minutes.”

“Ugh,” Emma groaned her disgust. “I don't want to eat anything I have to kill. I didn't really like it the first time around.”

“Well, it's all we can do while we're here. Unless you're planning to find a way back to Storybrooke, it's wild game or nothing.”

Emma frowned.

Regina, though Emma's head was turned away from her so the blonde could look at Snow, saw the look on the younger woman's face. She waved a hand and conjured a well-made, fully filled ham sandwich in a small, purple cloud.

The sound of the cloud's “poof” and the signature scent of Regina's magic turned Emma's attention to the brunette she laid across. Her eyes instantly fell to the sandwich and her face broke into a large smile.

“Thank you,” Emma said as she took the sandwich and ate it without moving an inch.

“You are so spoiled,” Henry said as he watched Emma take a large bite that devoured almost half of the sandwich.

Regina waved her other hand and conjured another sandwich that she handed to Henry.

Henry lit up and eagerly took it before he scarfed it down like his birth mother had attacked hers.

“And you're not,” Emma rhetorically asked with a full mouth of food.

Regina chuckled.

“I'm the kid. I'm supposed to be spoiled. What's your excuse, _Princess_ ,” Henry said, his mouth also full as he spoke.

Regina's smile never faded as she looked between Emma and Henry. When she caught Henry reach down and scratch his calve, she frowned then looked at Snow.

“I'll join you,” Regina said to Snow. “While we're out, I need to get a few things for Henry's rash.”

Regina sat up, but Emma still pinned her down at the legs. She patted Emma's thigh a few times as a signal for the blonde to get off and the blonde responded.

Emma held her sandwich with one hand and extended the other to Regina.

Regina wordlessly accepted it and helped Emma sit up while the younger woman shifted to avoid crushing the brunette's legs during the position change. The blonde's legs remained thrown over Regina, but her backside pressed into the bed next to Regina's right thigh.

Emma bent her knees and turned to sit facing the bedchamber doors. She folded her legs under herself as she sat closer to the foot of the bed and Regina removed herself from the bed altogether.

“I'll be back before sunset,” Regina told Henry then looked down at Emma. “If you need anything else, you can always conjure it. Just remember what I taught you.”

“Okay. And if I can't remember, I'll just...I don't know, is there a magical way to call you?”

“Yes, but I haven't taught you that.”

Emma opened her mouth to speak, but Regina immediately continued and didn't allow her to say a single thing.

“And I _will not_ teach you that,” Regina said as she pointed a warning finger at Emma.

Emma slumped her shoulders in defeat.

“Don't scratch,” Regina told Henry as she leaned over the bed and kissed the top of Henry's head.

As Regina headed toward the door, she ran a hand across Emma's shoulders until she affectionately raked her fingers through blonde hair.

The action wasn't lost on Henry or Snow. Henry stared out of curiosity while Snow's jaw dropped a little and her eyes slightly widened in confusion and shock. Although, Snow had seen other affection exchanges and positions between Emma and Regina so her shock had started to dim. That didn't mean it still didn't throw her off when she saw such things.

Regina stepped up to her and paused in the doorway when Snow refused to move.

Snow finally blinked again and forced a smile when she looked at Regina.

“Let's go,” Snow said before she turned and headed out in the hall.

Regina followed after her, but looked over her shoulder to look at Henry and Emma one last time before she left. She smiled at them, a genuine and loving smile that was returned by both of them.

After Regina disappeared around the corner, Henry started to scratch his calve again.

Emma looked over and saw him do it. She scoffed and gave him a backhanded slap to his arm.

“What,” he asked, a little frustrated at the reprimanding physical contact.

“Don't scratch!”

Henry rolled his eyes and scratched harder.

“Henry,” Emma warningly yelled then pushed him gently in the chest.

“Hey,” Henry whined as he lost balance and swayed on the bed.

“Stop it,” Emma said.

Henry exaggeratedly sighed and heavily dropped his hand in his lap.

“Fine.”

Emma smirked.

“I think I'm actually gonna like not being the 'fun Mom' all the time.”

*** * ***

Snow had two small animals thrown over her shoulders in burlap sacks as she walked through the forest back to the palace. Regina fell behind a few steps to inspect various bushes and plants for the ingredients needed for Henry's salve. The two were still close enough to carry on a conversation, but they hadn't.

Until Snow's curiosity won out and she had to ask Regina about the last couple days.

“So...you and my daughter,” Snow said and left the end of the sentence open for interpretation.

Regina walked out of the wilder, untamed part of the forest and rejoined Snow on the dirt pathway with a raw hide bag smaller than the ones Snow used for the animals. She dropped something into the bag as she came to walk beside Snow and opened her mouth as she mulled over Snow's inferred question.

“We're getting along well enough now. I don't think Henry's going to have to worry about us trying to keep him all to ourselves.”

“You said 'we're' and 'us'. Should I be worried,” Snow seriously asked.

“Why would you need to worry? Emma's perfectly capable of making her own decisions.”

“You can't tell me you would turn her away if she wanted to be with you, can you,” Snow stated instead of asking. She knew it to be true just by how Regina had worded her previous response.

Regina remained silent.

Snow turned her head to look solely at Regina as they continued to walk. When she saw the look in Regina's eyes and noticed the other woman preferred to keep quiet, she reached out a hand and stopped them in the middle of the pathway.

“Do you like her,” Snow asked, apprehensive to hear the answer.

“I... For as many times as she's saved me, I've now saved her a couple of times. Each time gets easier for me to do.”

“No,” Snow sadly said before anger overran her body. “No! You _can't_ like her.”

“Unfortunately for you, dear, you can't control how I feel,” Regina snarled.

“I won't allow you to do anything with her or to even move forward with this _friendship_ of yours,” Snow insisted and spat out the word “friendship” like it left a foul taste in her mouth.

“You can't control my actions either,” Regina said as she glared at Snow.

“Then what are your intentions with her? To hurt me? To make sure I suffer knowing you're trying to take my daughter from me? You already made me give her up once because of the curse and it's why she is who she is. Distant, hurt, and awkward about David and I.”

“Who she is is someone you should be proud of,” Regina raised her voice. “So she's not as accepting as you'd like about having you two as parents all of a sudden. That's not all there is to her, you know. She's not just your daughter, Snow. She's her own person with her own beliefs and she's a hell of a Savior _without_ the damn prophecy!”

Snow blinked several times through her shock.

“When asked if I had any regrets as I stood before the firing squad all those years ago, I only had malicious ones,” Regina continued. “I said those things for several reasons, but none of them are important because now I have a genuine regret. And that is, I regret my curse causing Emma all that pain.

“I hold myself responsible for her not feeling loved all those years, for whatever kind of abuse she had to endure. I may have wanted people to suffer during my reign, most of all people _you_ , but I never wanted to hurt her like that. I never wanted Emma to have a similar childhood to mine.”

Snow's mouth hung open, surprised to hear such a confession.

“You... _That's_ you're regret,” Snow asked. “Your greatest and most honest regret in all of your life is causing my daughter pain because of your curse?”

Regina swallowed and looked down at the ground.

“It made her as strong as she is today, but I believe it did a lot more damage than it did good,” Regina confessed.

“So when you say you like her, you really do like her.”

“Yes, because contrary to what you might believe, not everything is about you.”

“Well...from what I can tell, she seems to like you too,” Snow slowly said.

“Are you...? Would you be okay with us if anything were to happen,” Regina asked.

“It would take some time and I'm not going to leave you two alone together whenever I can help it, but...for Emma I would learn to... _accept_ it if she chose you.”

“For Emma,” Regina slowly started. “I'd apologize to you for everything even if at the time I hurt you, I thought you deserved it.”

“ _Is_ that an apology?”

“It's as close to one as you'll get until Emma asks me to make amends with you. I should warn you, however, that day may never come.”

“I believe one day it might,” Snow smiled.

Regina flashed a sad smile.

“I hope one day it means that much to her to ask that of me,” Regina quietly admitted.

 


	14. Chapter 14

“Can I practice sparring with a real sword,” Henry asked as he walked through the palace with Emma.

“What? No. Henry,” Emma tiredly said.

“Why not,” Henry drew out in a whine. “I've been practicing with Gramps plenty of times with wooden swords.”

“Kid, even if I sad yes, and I am _not_ saying yes, your mom would never let that happen.”

“You can just call her 'Mom' or 'Regina' when you're around me. And she's not here. Please?”

“Stick to fake swords for now, okay? We just got you back and we want to keep you safe for at least _a little_ while longer,” she joked as they came to a stop in the grand archway between the extensive dining room and the wide, ornate hallway they'd just walked through. 

Emma looked around with shock and awe as she took in the outdated but elegant palace. She barely had time to stare at the castle she would have called home, if not for the curse, before Charming approached them from the dining room with a smile.

“Hey, Henry,” Charming greeted.

“Gramps, will you _please_ tell Mom I'm ready to spar with _real_ swords,” Henry begged.

Charming smiled down at the boy and ruffled his hair before he replied.

“Actually, I agree with your mom on this one.”

“What? Come _on_!”

“Give it a little more practice with wooden swords and I promise sparring with the real thing will happen before you know it,” Charming said.

Henry sighed.

“Fine.”

Charming looked up at Emma when Henry headed toward the long dining table that could easily seat fifteen people.

Emma met Charming's gaze and quietly said thank you once Henry was mostly out of earshot.

“No problem. So, how are you with all of this? Being back in the Enchanted Forest.”

Emma shrugged.

“Henry wants to see what it's like so I'm not gonna say anything and risk upsetting him.”

“That sounds like you don't want to be here,” he gently pressed.

Emma huffed out a sigh and looked away for a moment before she met his gaze again and spoke up.

“This situation...? It's not ideal for me. I've spent my entire life in the real world, the one that's supposedly _without_ magic. It's what I know and even though it hasn't exactly been kind to me, as you once put it, that world _is_ my home.”

Charming looked down at the ground and nodded because he didn't know how else to respond.

“But...none of that matters,” Emma continued.

Charming looked up again, slightly hopeful but more surprised than anything.

“This is what Henry wants and I'm gonna let him have this one. And as long as Regina agrees, we'll stay,” Emma finished.

Charming raised an eyebrow at the mention of the former Evil Queen.

“Since when do you care if she agrees with you or not,” Charming curiously asked.

“I gave her the benefit of the doubt when it came to Archie's murder, right? I mean, before everything took a depressing turn for the worst. Not much has changed since then.”

“Not much,” Charming flatly repeated her words. “But some things have?”

Emma rolled her eyes, agitated.

“Yeah, they have. You weren't there, David.”

He cringed at Emma's use of his first name.

“Things with Ursula were as bad as everyone on board the ship predicted they'd be. Regina saved me.”

“You mentioned that when you got back to the ship.”

“But you don't seem to listen. While we were down there with Ursula, Regina...she did everything she could to help get us out of there. She never gave up. She exhausted herself. Twice! She healed me. Twice.”

“Well, Emma, there's a difference between being grateful and things changing.”

“Uh, in case you haven't noticed, I'm not five. I realize that, but...here's the thing. No matter what her reason was for doing what she did, she was there for me.”

“Emma–”

“No,” Emma cut him off. “I'm an adult and I don't need to explain myself to you. If I need your help or advice, I'll ask.”

Emma started to walk away and head over to the seat next to Henry at the dining table when the loud sound of the front double doors swinging open echoed throughout the first floor of the palace.

Charming redirected his attention to the framed space between the archway and saw his wife walk into the space with two sacks thrown over both of her shoulders. He smiled and it appeared as though Snow felt that warm, beaming look on his face because she turned and instantly locked eyes with him.

Just as Snow smiled back, the two of them shared only a few seconds of across the room tenderness before Regina's mere presence interrupted.

Regina stepped up beside Snow and looked around the palace with a disgusted snarl firmly in place. When her eyes scanned the room and landed on Charming, she scoffed and rolled her eyes before she walked past Snow to enter the dining hall. She ignored the annoying lovebirds and went straight over to Emma and Henry.

“Tell me you didn't scratch while I was away,” Regina said as she came up between Emma and Henry at the table and bent down to kiss Henry on the forehead.

“Mom kept hitting me when I tried,” Henry admitted with a frown.

Regina chuckled and turned to Emma.

“I'm impressed. You usually disappoint me by now,” Regina teased with a smirk and spoke in a somewhat sultry drawl.

“How long have you know me and you _still_ have no idea what I'm capable of,” Emma replied.

Regina's breath quietly hitched and Emma noticed the other woman's pupils dilate out of what could only be described as lust or just simple attraction.

Before Regina could open her mouth any further to say something, Henry interjected without a clue as to what had occurred between his mothers.

“So, do you have the ointment,” Henry piped up. “'Cause it really does itch and I _will_ scratch it if you don't have it.”

Emma and Regina smiled at him and Regina retrieved the salve from a small pouch similar to the one she'd once held a poisoned apple for Snow White in.

“Of course, sweetheart,” Regina said as she handed it over to Henry. “Apply it twice daily and use it all, okay? Let me know when you need more.”

“Got it,” Henry said as he pulled up his pant leg and immediately started to apply the ointment.

“You're welcome,” Regina expectantly said as she watched and waited for Henry's reaction.

“Oh,” Henry said after a moment when he realized why Regina had said that. “Thank you.”

Regina smiled at him again and ran a hand through his hair.

“Question,” Emma stole Regina's attention. “What are we supposed to do all day to entertain ourselves?”

“Well,” Snow started as she approached the three of them with Charming at her side. “There's horseback riding, dress fittings, hunting wild game, swordplay, jousting–”

“Yeah, I'm more of a 'go out for a run' type of person and besides, last time we were here ogres inhabited most of the area.”

Snow frowned and appeared deflated with that realization.

“I want to ride a horse,” Henry exclaimed as he finished rubbing in the salve. “All I've done in Storybrooke is groom one, muck the stall, and have a staring contest with him.”

Regina looked at him with an excited light in her chocolate brown eyes.

“I could teach you if you really want to learn,” Regina told him.

Henry's expression brightened tenfold.

“Let's go now,” he said.

“You know,” Charming stepped in. “If ogres still roam most of the land, we should probably work on rebuilding the forest so they no longer run the land.”

“Yes,” Snow smiled. “And...I think you should be a part of that.”

When Snow said “you”, she had looked right at Regina.

“If you're suggesting I pass up the opportunity to bond with my son so I can help you fix up this land–” Regina started to get worked up, but cut herself off just before Snow had the chance.

“That's not what I meant,” Snow quickly tried to correct the other woman. “We should all set aside time to work on the Enchanted Forest. This used to be our home.”

“ _Your_ home. I didn't–” Regina started again, but didn't allow herself to finish voicing her thoughts when she remembered Henry was there.

Something clicked in Emma's mind and she stood up. She reached out and touched Regina's lower back with her fingertips; contact that barely existed and almost seemed to not be felt until Regina sighed and gave a single nod of agreement in response to Snow.

“Taking turns making this land worthy of those who used to live here sounds like a decent plan. We can work out the details later. You two and the others should all eat,” Regina said.

“Two animals smaller than deer won't feed everyone,” Charming calmly, casually pointed out.

“I already fed Henry and your daughter,” Regina said.

Charming looked unfazed for a moment until he furrowed his brow and looked between Emma and Regina. He saw only one of his daughter's hands and had yet to locate the other one that appeared strategically placed behind Regina's body.

“Rumple probably won't eat anything you bring back so that just leaves Tink, Hook, and yourselves.”

“Actually,” Tink said from the archway between the dining and the main hall. “I already ate too.”

Tinkerbell stood there with a hint of a smile on her face, her arms crossed over her chest.

“I went hunting earlier this morning just before dawn. I also had a few hiding places throughout the forest here so I've restocked them with a few snack foods in case of an emergency.”

Regina looked impressed yet still a little stunned. She wasn't the only one.

Snow shared almost the same look as Regina while Charming appeared proud, though no one really understood why. Henry seemed to look up to Tinkerbell, admiration in his shining brown eyes.

Emma just resisted the urge to roll her eyes, the least fascinated of everyone by the fairy's efficiency.

“Great,” Emma sarcastically spoke up. “Now can we find something for me to do? I can't just sit here in this stuffy, falling apart castle.”

“How childish are you that you can't sit still for even a few minutes,” Tinkerbell said.

“It's just how I grew up. Got a problem with that?”

Emma took an assertive step toward Tinkerbell, prepared for a fight.

Regina instantly held out an arm and hindered Emma from approaching the other blonde.

“What is with you two,” Regina asked Emma in an only slightly hushed tone.

“You think it hasn't been my life for the past three decades,” Tinkerbell asked. “It's what I did on a whim when I was _here_ , but in Neverland everything I did was for survival.”

“And you what? Expect everyone to just bow down and give you praise because your life was tough and you keep proving that you're a survivor? Why should anyone care?”

When Regina looked at Emma after that comment, she started to eye the Savior with a little more concern and possibly deeper understanding.

“Emma, it's okay,” Regina softly said so only she would hear.

“No, it's not okay,” Emma said with her eyes still focused on Tinkerbell.

Regina moved her arm from across Emma's chest and gently touched the other woman's bicep. She slowly rubbed the pad of her thumb over the exposed skin in wide circles.

It was that somewhat calming touch that drew Emma's attention from Tinkerbell to the woman in front of her, to Regina.

“I just–” Emma stopped herself as quickly as she had started speaking. “Never mind. I need something to do. I can't just sit around all day.”

“Okay,” Regina quickly and calmly started. “Why don't you come with Henry and I to the stables?”

“Really,” Henry excitedly asked. “We can go? I'll actually get to ride this time?!”

Regina looked over at Henry and smiled.

“Yes, but only with proper lessons.”

“You'll teach me,” Henry asked.

“Everything I know,” Regina replied. “In due time, of course. Today will be the basics.”

Regina looked at Emma again.

“What do you think,” Regina asked her.

Emma looked back and forth between Regina and Henry for a moment. Her eyes met Regina's again before she answered.

“I'll go...but I'm not getting on a horse.”

“Well, someone should start fixing up the palace if nothing else,” Charming said.

Regina rolled her eyes.

“I'm sure we can use magic,” Regina said. “ _Later_.”

“Mm-magic,” Henry asked with uncertainty and a hint of disapproval. “I know Mom's already used magic since the mines, but do we have to use it _all_ the time? I don't think it's going to be helpful with...everything.”

“Oh. Henry,” Emma tried to reassure their son magic use wouldn't be as huge an issue he thought it might be.

“I won't use magic to conjure things for personal comfort,” Regina cut Emma off and addressed Henry. “Is that a compromise you can agree with?”

Henry considered the offer for a moment before a smile slowly spread across his face.

“Okay. And...maybe Emma could make sure you don't use magic when you don't have to?”

Emma and Regina looked at each other and Emma tilted her head to the side with a sympathetic expression on her face.

“I think,” Regina slowly started with her eyes locked on Emma for another second before she looked at Henry. “That's a good idea.”

Emma exhaled with relief.

“Now that that's settled,” Regina changed the subject. “Let's find ourselves some horses.”

*** * ***

Regina had cleared the stables of everything but the hay on the ground as soon as she could once she'd been crowned Queen.

Henry wanted to ride horses and Regina had none.

She hadn't traveled the forest in many years, but to find her son a horse Regina would willingly get lost in a heartbeat. That was why she, Emma, and Henry walked together through seemingly endless green and gritty, compacted dirt.

"How long have we been walking," Henry slowly drew out in a whine.

He swiped at beads of sweat on his forehead with the back of his hand and panted out shallow breaths.

Emma opened her mouth with a stern and slightly frustrated look on her face, ready to scold the boy until she remembered that Henry had been stuck in the jungle of Neverland for several days by himself. She closed her mouth and reconsidered her approach.

"You want a piggyback ride," Emma asked.

"What's a piggyback ride," Henry scrunched up his face in confusion and looked up at her as they continued on through the forest.

Emma saw the sincerity in Henry's confusion and looked up over Henry's head at Regina.

"Seriously? He's never heard of a piggyback ride?"

"There were a lot of things I had to learn about this world and then Henry came along and there were a lot of things I had to learn about parenting. I couldn't possibly learn _everything_!"

Though Regina sounded angry, Emma knew she wasn't. She knew Regina was only lashing out because she felt uncomfortable, maybe even incompetent. Regina had been out of her element twice over and didn't like to look the fool, especially since that was all she seemed to look to Rumple and those that had tricked her in the past.

Emma snapped her mouth shut and looked apologetically at Regina for a moment before she directed her attention back to Henry.

"Alright, kid," Emma said as she stopped in their mission, placed a hand on Henry's shoulder, and spun him around to face her. "Looks like I get to teach you something after all. And here I thought I'd missed too many of your firsts."

Regina stopped and turned toward Emma and Henry. She watched Emma kneel down in front of Henry and heard the younger woman explain a piggyback ride.

"You hop on my back and I carry you around," Emma told him.

"That's it," Henry asked.

"That's all there is to it. Come on," Emma said as she presented her back to Henry in an invitation.

Henry cautiously and tensely climbed onto Emma's back and listened to the blonde as she further instructed him.

"Wrap your arms around my neck and your legs around my waist."

As she instructed him, he latched onto Emma and Emma reached back to help lift him onto herself. She gripped under his knees and stood up as he held on to his blonde mother like a koala.

Regina watched Emma stand up with Henry pressed to her back and somewhat marveled at the sight.

"Okay," Emma hoarsely puffed out in a sigh as she adjusted and redistributed Henry's weight. "Better?"

“Yeah,” Henry said as he squirmed against Emma and held his blonde mother a little closer. “This is kind of fun.”

Henry turned his head to look at Regina and the three of them started to walk toward the stables again.

“Hey, Mom, how long do you think I can get away with this,” Henry asked Regina with a grin.

Regina forced a smile in response as she tried to keep her attention focused on Henry, but occasionally her eyes slid toward Emma and the scene the blonde presented to her. Emma and Henry together and the three of them alone together gave Regina a sense of family, a taste of something she'd never once felt in all her life.

“Regina?”

The curious and concerned voice pulled her out of her thoughts and Regina looked up to see Emma turned partially toward her.

“Yes?”

Emma's lips twitched into a warm and goofy smile. She pulled Henry up more on her back when he started to slide toward the forest floor then extended a hand to Regina.

“Come on,” Emma said.

Regina's eyes widened and her lips parted as she looked from green eyes down to Emma's hand. She stared at the hand for several seconds then looked at Henry.

“Mom,” Henry bordered on a whining tone. “Let's go!”

Emma chuckled.

“Quit daydreaming, Your Majesty,” Emma teased.

Regina blinked and quietly stammered before she slowly migrated toward Emma and Henry. She held out her hand and allowed Emma to take it in hers. They walked together through the forest, Henry on Emma's back and Regina's hand joined with Emma's. They couldn't have looked more like a family if they tried.

Regina nervously licked her lips the further they walked together and she started to fear the rise in her temperature would cause her hand to sweat. She wished Jack Sparrow's compass hadn't explained why she would feel that way about Emma, but it had exposed her inner desire.

They'd shared one kiss on a night spent in worry and sorrow still in search for Henry. One kiss and Regina wanted more. She missed the way Emma felt even only halfway on top of her, that circle necklace pressed to her neck. She didn't even care that Emma had evidence of her earlier crying when they melted into each other. It wasn't the most appealing way to kiss someone, but Regina knew that moment was theirs and theirs alone. Just like all of her stolen moments with Daniel, she had something unique and private with Emma.

Suddenly, Regina felt the grip on her hand tighten.

Regina snapped her attention to Emma who had her green eyes trained on her. Emma looked sympathetic and understanding. Right then, Regina was grateful she wanted Emma because that expression solidified Regina's belief that Emma would be good for her, if the blonde chose to except them together.

And then fear of rejection hit Regina hard and she was more than nervous.

“You okay,” Emma asked.

Regina momentarily stopped breathing and her eyes were wide, her face a little pale. She looked nothing like herself.

“Hey,” Emma said as she tightened her grip. “I'm here. Henry's here. Whatever it is that's freaking you out, you don't have to face it alone.”

Henry looked at Regina and smiled when she met his gaze.

“Love you,” he said.

Regina slowly started to smile, her eyes solely on Henry. She had him and even if things didn't work out between her and Emma, she would still have her little boy.

“Look away, kid,” Emma told him.

“Why,” Henry asked, confused and suspicious.

“Just do it,” Emma said. “Nothing to worry about, but you might thank me one day for giving you a warning.”

Henry scrunched up his face and hesitated before he looked away and stared through the trees to his right that he had inspected before Emma called Regina out on her moment of panic.

Emma made sure to wait a few seconds after Henry looked away to ensure he would keep his eyes averted. When she felt safe enough to continue in her plan, she looked right at Regina and lifted the brunette's hand to her lips. She kissed the back of it with a grin as she watched Regina's eyes dilate a little at the contact.

Emma lowered their joined hands to their sides again and stepped closer to the other woman, one hand still on Henry to ensure he didn't accidentally let go and fall. She pecked Regina on the cheek and lingered for a second or two before she pulled away.

Regina felt her heart beat against her chest and for a minute, she didn't feel like a Queen – evil or not – and she didn't feel like a mayor or a mother. She just felt like Regina.

“Can I look at you two now,” Henry piped up.

“Yeah,” Emma answered with a smile as she kept her eyes on Regina for a little while longer.

Henry turned his head and looked from Emma to Regina. When he caught sight of Regina, he noticed the pinkish tint to her cheeks.

“Are you okay, Mom?”

“Hmm? Oh, yes,” Regina replied as she looked up at Henry. “Yes, Henry. I'm fine.”

Emma widely grinned as she looked at the dirt path ahead of them. She laughed under her breath, though Henry and Regina still managed to hear it.

“What's going on,” Henry asked as he continued to look back and forth between his two mothers.

“Nothing,” Regina quickly tried to assure him.

Emma laughed a little louder.

*** * ***

After a long walk through the forest, the three of them arrived at the stables Regina had uplifted and placed in Storybrooke. The only evidence that she had lead Emma and Henry to the right place was the grave marker that sat untouched by the dark curse.

Emma let go of her hand and eased Henry onto the ground, but crept closer to the seemingly deserted land.

Regina, however, stopped in her tracks and remained rooted in her spot. She didn't dare go any closer to that which she'd lost so long ago and had to say goodbye to twice.

Henry was the first to notice.

“Mom?”

Regina didn't snap out of her trance that time. Her eyes focused on the grave and her vision started to blur with the threat of oncoming tears.

“Regina? What's wrong,” Emma asked as she took a step closer to the brunette.

Henry followed Regina's gaze and saw the grave. A few seconds ticked by before it clicked in his head.

“It's Daniel,” Henry softly said as he looked at Regina.

Regina didn't return his gaze, but Emma turned and looked at him.

He looked up at Emma then and saw the concern in her questioning expression. He looked from her to the grave.

Emma followed Henry's gaze and saw the grave site. It wasn't a typical tombstone. It seemed to be made out of wood and looked like a model size barn or house with a heart on it. It wasn't too far from the stables that stood in much worse shape.

The stables were cracked and split in various places and the wood seemed charred and weather torn. Emma could see into the stables and noticed the lack of horses. Though she wasn't a huge fan of farm animals, she was at least thankful that no animals seemed to have been hurt by the curse. At least not the ones that used to reside in the stables.

“Oh,” Emma said with a deer-in-the-headlights expression.

After a moment, Emma turned back to Regina and slowly approached the brunette.

“Do you want to leave? I mean, there aren't any horses here for Henry anyway so we can go back to the palace and–”

“No,” Regina quickly interjected and quickly looked away from the grave and focused on Emma. “No, it's okay. There should be horses in the area. I let them all go after...the King's death.”

Emma tensed at the mention of the deceased pig that by blood was her grandfather. She saw the distant look in Regina's eyes and relaxed. She took another step closer and cautiously reached out for Regina. She was careful not to startle the other woman when she gently touched the brunette's arm and pulled Regina from her thoughts.

Regina blinked and shook her head before her eyes found Emma's.

“I didn't bring all of them to Storybrooke,” Regina continued to explain. “I left maybe one or two because they were a bit uncooperative.”

“Were they safe from the storm the curse brought,” Henry asked.

Regina looked at him and smiled.

“Yes, Henry. I made sure they were protected. My mother sectioned off part of the Enchanted Forest just like I'd sectioned off a part of the land near here just for the horses that didn't want to make the trip with all of us.”

“I'm starting to see there are _many_ sides to you,” Emma blurted out, though she meant to keep that comment to herself.

Regina and Emma locked gazes and something sparked between them. The spark was invisible and was more of a lingering feeling within each of the women instead of the spark of magic that occasionally flowed between them, but, regardless, it was definitely something.

“Where are the horses,” Henry asked, oblivious to whatever had happened between his mothers.

Emma and Regina simultaneously turned their attention to Henry.

“Right,” Regina said. “This way.”

Regina lead them to a small horse pen past a thicket of trees that separated the pen from the stable. She raised a hand to the faint purple waves of magic she used to protect the enclosure from the curse and took a deep breath. She moved her hand from right to left and magically lowered the slightly transparent barrier.

Immediately, the only two horses in the enclosure neighed. One trotted up to the gate Regina had positioned herself in front of and bowed its head then nudged Regina's slightly lowered hand.

“Well, hello, Mireya,” Regina said with a smile and perfect Spanish accent. “Did you miss me?”

Mireya blew out a heavy breath and nodded against Regina's hand.

Regina laughed.

“Good girl,” Regina said before she raised her free hand, palm up, and conjured a carrot. “Here, girl.”

Regina held out the carrot out to Mireya and smiled as the horse started to nibble from Regina's hand.

Emma and Henry watched with adoration and admiration as Regina fed the mare and smiled throughout it all.

Slowly, the other horse walked over to join Regina and Mireya and Emma wrapped an arm around Henry and pulled him close to her as they continued to stare.

“Oh, I haven't forgotten about you, Sammy,” Regina said as she moved her hand closer to the other horse and offered him the same carrot Mireya had started to snack on.

Emma, always one to ruin a good moment, furrowed her brows after a moment and shook her head before she spoke up.

“How did the horses survive for three decades without someone here to take care of them?”

Regina turned to Emma and Henry, her hand still outstretched toward both horses as she continued to feed them.

“Magic. It may not exist in your world, aside from Storybrooke, but it does here. I cast a spell that would dispense food whenever they were out. It sounds a little ridiculous, but I wasn't about to kill my horses. I had already lost Rocinante to the curse. I wasn't about to lose two more because of it.”

“Who,” Emma asked.

Regina rolled her eyes.

“Rocinante. He was my horse. The first time I learned how to ride was on Rocinante. He was about four months old when my father took me to the stable in a neighboring village to pick out my own horse. It was a few years before I started my riding lessons. Rocinante was a promise from my father that I would be able to take up horseback riding once I was of age.”

“So...you and your dad bonded over horses?”

“And other things,” Regina smiled as a fond memory or two seemed to cross her mind. “He loved to watch my progress with riding though. And then...”

Regina's expression fell and she slipped into a familiar looking sadness.

“And then Daniel started to work at our stable. The rest is...history to be noted in some book about fairy tales.”

“If you don't mind me asking, how old was he when he started working there,” Emma asked.

“Fourteen. I was a year younger,” Regina answered. “We didn't start sneaking around to see each other until I was almost sixteen.”

“That's the same age I was when Neal came into my life,” Emma sadly said. “Guess you and I aren't so different, huh.”

Silence fell over the three of them.

Henry looked between the two of them for the next several seconds before he broke the silence.

“Maybe you two should be friends instead of fighting,” Henry innocently suggested.

Emma and Regina looked at Henry and laughed.

“Maybe we should,” Regina agreed.

“Starting now,” Emma added.

Regina looked at Emma, not at all surprised by Emma's words though she did seem thankful for Emma's proposal that left little room for argument.

“Starting now,” Regina repeated, her agreement verbalized in that moment.

“...Sooo, am I gonna get on one of these horses or are we just gonna stand here,” Henry asked after a few seconds.

Emma rolled her eyes and Regina laughed then reached out for Henry.

Emma released her grip on their son and Henry walked to Regina.

Regina placed a hand on his back and made him stand in front of the gate by her side. She instructed him on how to earn a horse's trust and waited until he was able to pet Mireya's nose before she opened the gate and guided him inside the enclosure.

Sammy huffed and snorted before he trotted away from the gate and moved around Mireya until he stood on the opposite side of the other horse in front of the gate. He extended his neck and nuzzled Emma's raised hand, her palm to his nose.

Emma hadn't meant to attract Sammy. She saw him move and became very nervous about what his reason for moving could be. When he approached the gate, much closer to her then, she raised a hand defensively to keep him away from her in case he charged.

She really didn't know much of anything about horses so she assumed the worst and feared that the large animals would hurt her instead of seek out comfort from her.

Regina started to help Henry onto Mireya – without a saddle – to ensure she would abide by Henry's rules of preferred magic use, no personal comfort, and turned to check on Emma when she saw Sammy rub his nose into her palm.

Emma's shoulders were tense and she grimaced as Sammy continued to brush against her in seemingly unwanted ways.

Regina chuckled.

“He wants you to pet him,” Regina said with a smile.

“What if I don't want to pet him,” Emma asked as she fearfully eyed Sammy and shied away from his persistent touch.

“You should be flattered,” Regina said. “He's never once liked anyone other than me. He even spat on your mother and nearly kicked her in the face when she tried to pet him for the first time.”

Henry looked at Regina and saw the grin she wore on her face after remembering the experience with a young Snow White.

“Mom,” Henry warned.

Regina looked at him and her grin slowly faded.

“Sorry,” Regina said. “It was funny then.”

“He could have hurt Grandma,” Henry said.

“And that would've been bad?”

Emma rolled her eyes.

“Mom,” Henry warned again, louder than the previous warning.

“Fine, fine,” Regina defensively raised her hands. “I'm wrong to laugh about it. I'm sorry.”

Sammy pressed himself up against the gate as he tried his best to get closer to Emma, who had slowly started to back away from the enclosure. Sammy vehemently nodded against Emma's hand before the blonde pulled it away and dropped it down to her side.

Sammy huffed at the loss of contact and lowered his head in search of Emma's hand.

“Emma,” Regina gently berated the younger woman. “Just pet him.”

Emma heavily sighed like a moody teenager.

“Fine,” she grumbled and moved closer to Sammy.

Emma lifted her hand and waited for Sammy to place his nose under her palm. When he did, he didn't wait for her to make the next move. He shook his head and nudged her forearm with his wet nose.

Emma ran her hand down his nose and started to pet him before Sammy turned his head and presented his black mane to her. She furrowed her brow, confused as to what Sammy wanted her to do, but she took another step closer and ran her hand down his mane.

Sammy remained perfectly still as Emma touched his hair. After a minute or so, he stepped away from the gate and bowed his head a few times.

“What does that mean,” Emma asked as she looked from Sammy up to Regina.

“He wants you to come in,” Regina said before she pulled herself up onto Mireya and wrapped her arms around Henry from behind. “If you come in, he'll let you ride him.”

“No. Uh uh. Not riding him,” Emma said as she shook her head. “Not happening.”

“Come on, Mom,” Henry tried to encourage her. “I haven't even gone anywhere and riding horses is already fun.”

Regina smiled and kissed the top of Henry's head before she turned her head and looked at Emma.

Her smile had faded, but the look Regina gave Emma spoke volumes. She seemed much softer and more willing to share certain aspects of her life with Emma. It was something Emma never thought would happen before the curse broke. She saw Regina as just Regina even though the brunette back then was cold and uptight. The other woman never let anyone get close to her except for Graham. And yet, he hadn't really been close to her at all.

Emma took a deep breath and tried to relax.

“Alright,” Emma said and very slowly walked over to the latch on the gate.

As soon as the latch clanked, Sammy stepped toward the gate.

“Whoa,” Emma said to Sammy. “Easy. I'm coming in. You're not coming out.”

Henry and Regina both smiled as they watched Emma.

“The great and powerful Savior is afraid of horses,” Regina teasingly asked.

Emma closed the gate to the enclosure.

“Yeah, well, anything bigger than me has always been a threat,” Emma said as she awkwardly moved toward Sammy.

Regina's smile faded and she instinctively tightened her grip around Henry.

Henry looked up at Regina when her embrace turned into a squeeze. His eyes remained on Emma. When he saw what looked like concern and possibly guilt on the brunette's face, he turned his head to look at Emma once again.

“Just go slow,” Regina calmly guided Emma. “Sammy won't hurt you, but horses can sense fear and anger. It's best to stay calm and keep their temperament at ease.”

Emma gritted her teeth as she grimaced her way out of nervousness and uncertainty. She took a few relaxing breaths and reached up for Sammy's dark mane. She gripped and tried to throw herself over the horse's back one leg at a time. Blame it on lack of momentum or Emma's frequently inability to do anything without looking clumsy.

Emma fell off Sammy before she could even hook one of her legs over the horse and immediately, Henry and Regina laughed together at the blonde's failure.

Emma glared at both of them from her new position on the ground with her hands and knees pressed into the sand within the enclosure. She pushed back onto her feet and brushed herself off then tucked some of her blonde hair behind her right ear.

Henry looked up at Regina and a second later, Regina looked back at him as she continued to smile at Emma's cute clumsiness.

Cute. That adjective was a problem. Regina only ever used that word when it came to Henry, not to his blonde birth mother who came to Storybrooke and made an absolute mess of everything Regina had worked to keep together, to keep in her favor.

“Maybe you should help her,” Henry suggested with squint-y eyes caused by the day's sun and his timidness for how well his mother would receive what he'd said.

Regina gave a warm smile reserved just for him and nodded.

“I think that would be a good idea,” Regina said before she dismounted Mireya, careful not to knock Henry off the mare.

As Emma struggled to take hold of Sammy's mane, Regina came to stand beside her.

“Here,” Regina said as she held out her hands and reached out to touch Emma, but only let her hands hover instead of move forward without permission. “Let me help.”

“I've got it,” Emma insisted, her tone higher than usual and slightly squeaky.

Emma grabbed Sammy's mane and accidentally pulled too hard.

Sammy hurriedly stepped away from Emma and caused the woman to loose her footing. She let go of the mane and stumbled backward.

Regina moved behind Emma and caught her before the younger woman could fall. She cupped Emma's elbows and chuckled as Emma fell into her.

Thankfully, where Sammy moved when he tried to get away from Emma's abuse blocked Henry's view because Regina's lips grazed Emma's ear and landed sweetly against the blonde's cheekbone after Emma's sloppy and uncoordinated fall. Her hands moved from Emma's elbows across the other woman's forearms before she ran her hands over Emma's stomach. Her hands roamed lower and lower and–

Emma gasped and tried her hardest not to moan, but let out a restrained groan caught in her throat.

Regina grinned against Emma's cheek and slowly released her grip on Emma.

Emma gulped and tried to regain her composure then turned to meet Regina's eyes. When their gazes locked, Emma saw Regina's eyes were dark and lust filled.

Regina's expression could have sent shivers down Emma's spine, but when Sammy nudged Emma's shoulder and briefly nuzzled his nose in her neck she coughed and shook herself out of her turned on state.

“Interesting way to help a girl ride a horse,” Emma said as she tried not to blush.

Regina laughed, a warm and genuine laugh that she'd started to share with Emma and had yet to share with anyone else except for Henry.

“I haven't even helped you yet,” Regina said. “Now, put your hand here.”

Regina took Emma's hands and positioned them where they were supposed to be. She remained behind Emma and gently pushed the other woman toward Sammy.

“You have to jump a little and swing your leg over at the right time. Riding without a saddle is not an easy feat,” Regina said.

“Then maybe you should magic us some saddles,” Emma replied.

“Don't be a smart ass,” Regina said.

“You love my smart ass,” Emma teased with a smirk.

“Miss Swan,” Regina pretended to scold the other woman.

“Ah, ah, ah,” Emma jokingly admonished. “Don't deny it, Regina. You like it and you and I both know it.”

“Just get on the damn horse,” Regina said with suppressed laughter and a grin.

Emma proudly and happily smiled as she returned to her previous activity of trying to mount Sammy.

She gave a little jump and started to throw her leg over Sammy's back and just as she was about to fall over again, Regina grabbed her and pushed her up.

Regina's hands found Emma's ass and the backs of the woman's thighs. She squeezed and lifted Emma onto the horse.

Once Emma was seated on Sammy, she looked down at Regina and grinned.

“Told you you liked it. You can't keep your hands off it,” Emma said.

Regina rolled her eyes.

“Just be careful,” Regina warned with a hint of concern in her voice.

Both Emma and Henry heard the concern, but neither of them brought attention to it. Instead, they seemed to almost pretend they hadn't heard the brunette at all.

Regina got back onto Mireya and settled in once again behind Henry while Emma adjusted herself on Sammy.

“We'll start in the enclosure at a slow trot,” Regina instructed. “If Henry wants it, we'll then lead into a gallop. No one's going to canter until there are saddles involved and the two of you spend more time on horses than just an hour or two.”

“Um, what the hell does _any_ of that mean,” Emma asked.

Henry laughed.

“Maybe _you_ need to take lessons with Gramps,” Henry quipped.

“Ha ha,” Emma sarcastically laughed.

Regina smiled wide enough to show her perfectly set and brilliantly white teeth.

“I'm sure a few lessons with me will be fine, Henry,” Regina kindly said then turned to look at Emma and her demeanor instantly changed.

Emma had been accustomed to the way Regina's eyes scanned over her and sized her up before the curse broke, but she felt something entirely different when Regina looked at her that way right then.

Color blossomed on Emma's cheeks and tinted them with a pinkish-red hue that burned into a rosy red the longer she stared at Regina.

Regina uncharacteristically winked at Emma and the blonde understood with perfect clarity that the brunette would have her fun with her no matter the circumstances.

*** * ***

Charming wiped his mouth after he'd finished his portion of food, though he hadn't needed to do it. For a man who used to be a shepherd, Prince Charming actually had good manners and didn't eat like a slob.

“I don't know if I like Emma and Henry with Regina,” Charming said to Snow as he started to clear his plate at the cracked and weather worn dining table.

“I'm sure they're fine,” Snow said as she allowed her husband to chivalrously take care of her plate for her.

Charming stopped mid-walk as he started to leave the table, looked over his shoulder at Snow, and furrowed his brow. Plates still in hand, he gripped them a little tighter before he turned to face Snow fully once again and set the plates back down on the dining hall table.

“'Fine'? What do you mean it's fine? Before we went after Henry in Neverland, she tried to kill us! At _least_ twice,” Charming raised his voice as he took step after step to close the gap between them.

Charming towered over her after he finished yelling his point and though Regina wasn't currently in the palace, he had motioned toward the grand doors to the dining hall as though the brunette stood somewhere on the other side.

“I'm aware,” Snow curtly nodded and averted her eyes with a steely expression as she focused her gaze on the table top.

“Then how can you condone any of this? We should keep an eye on Regina, not just hand our daughter and grandson over to her dark and impulsive will!”

“I–” Snow stopped herself as she lifted her head to look at Charming again.

Snow sat in silence for a moment with slightly widened eyes as she thought about what to say. Her lips quivered as she tried to open and shut her mouth over and over again in search for the right words. Only three words popped into her head and she found herself unable to say anything else.

She took a deep breath and tried to remain calm as she told Charming something she never thought she'd say to him about Regina after all that woman had done to her, after all the years and bad blood between them.

“I trust her,” Snow breathed out somewhat firmly as she looked Charming directly in the eyes.

Charming blinked and his expression changed from suspiciously quizzical to baffled in an instant.

“What,” Charming asked out of disbelief.

Snow cocked her head to the side, her expression soft and almost loving as she momentarily pursed her lips. It was another way Snow often communicated with Charming without the need for words, though they often spoke to clarify just what their looks meant. That moment was no different.

“Yes,” Snow confirmed. “I trust her with this.”

“Wha– Why?”

“We talked. It– _She_ seems genuine. Something's...different with her. When it comes to Emma and Henry, she's... David, I think she's...in love with Emma.”

Charming almost gasped. Thankfully, he hadn't. Though he still looked appalled, shocked, and ultimately confused. The latter emotion took precedence over everything else he felt and it caused him to pull out a chair and slowly lower himself onto it. He took his time to sit down at the table and exhaled.

“How... Regina lo– But...she's...”

Snow smiled at Charming's inability to speak. She rubbed his back for almost a minute before he finally managed a complete sentence.

“How do you know?”

“Like I said, we talked. Regina and I,” Snow replied as she started to rub his shoulder blade in a circular motion.

“I can't... How can you be okay with this?”

“I'm not _comfortable_ with it yet, but...if this is what Emma wants then we need to consider them together as a possibility.”

“What about Neal? She loved him, right? How does she go from Neal to Regina?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, they have different...equipment.”

Snow laughed.

“Well, maybe you've forgotten certain things about the world Emma grew up in, but you can like men and women. It's not so unheard of now.”

“Okay. What about the fact that she just lost Neal? Regina could just be a rebound.”

Snow shrugged.

“You're right. That could very well be true, but I wasn't talking about Emma when we started this conversation. I don't know how Emma feels, but if I know Regina the way I think I do, she's serious. I think...I think I saw a glimpse of the old Regina, the Regina that saved me from that runaway horse.”

Charming picked his head up and looked right at Snow. He took a few shallow breaths as he tried to understand just what he had heard.

“And you think Emma had something to do with that?”

Snow nodded.

“Emma isn't a little girl anymore, David. She can take care of herself and we have to trust that if Regina does something to hurt her that she'll either come to us or she'll be able to deal with it herself.”

“She's not a little girl anymore _because_ of Regina,” Charming argued.

“I know, but–” Snow sighed. “Look, we don't even know what Emma thinks about this. Nothing's happened between them as far as I can tell. I want to believe that Emma will come to us when she's ready. If we need to know something about the two of them, I want to believe that she'll tell us before anything significant happens.”

“Well,” Hook said with a grin as he slowly sauntered into the dining hall. “That's an interesting thing to hear from Snow White. I may not know the extent of your story, love, but I would've expected a speech like that to come from your husband and not the woman who spreads secrets like warm butter.”

“Hey,” Charming gruffly said as he shot out of his chair and glared at Hook. “You will respect her. No one talks to her or about her in that way. Do you understand?”

Hook defensively raised both his hand and his hook and chuckled.

“No need to get your briefs all twisted up. I do take it you're a briefs man?”

Charming rolled his eyes.

Hook chuckled.

“Relax, Mate. I meant no offense to your lady or to you. Now, what exactly do we do around here because I am absolutely tired of this place already.”

“Maybe you could actually help us then,” Charming suggested through almost gritted teeth. “Rebuilding this place isn't going to be easy.”

“Not sure how a man with only one hand can be of much service to carpentry,” Hook said as he held up his hook and turned it from side to side to it off.

Charming heavily sighed through his nose and clenched his fists.

“Can you _not_ be yourself for _five_. _Minutes_?!”

Snow looked at Charming, completely stunned by his angry outburst. Hook hadn't done anything in particular to really agitate Charming and it wasn't as though he hadn't acted any differently throughout their Neverland voyage. So why Charming had decided it was worth his raised voice, clenched fists, and neck veins popping out of his reddened neck was beyond her at that point.

Hook seemed to shrug it off, almost as if he knew the trouble Charming faced. It was as if he knew why Charming had behaved the way he had while his own wife couldn't even begin to fathom it.

“Sorry, Mate. I'll leave you two alone,” Hook said as he started to back out of the dining hall. “Just thought I'd find something to do. Without my ship, I've got nothing to preoccupy my time and it doesn't look like we're leaving here any time soon so...”

Hook trailed off and spun on the heel of his dusty, faded, and creased leather boots. He almost made it out of the dining hall when Charming spoke again.

“Wait. Hook...I'm sorry. Look, we could really use some help trying to fix this place up and I know you've got a handicap to work with. Just...any bit of help would be greatly appreciated. Okay?”

Snow relaxed only a little once Charming apologized. Something clearly wasn't right with the man and she hoped it was something they could fix together or something they could fix at all. For some reason, she had a nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach that told her it wasn't just something she'd said or the stress of being back in the kingdom and having to almost build it from the bottom up with only a few others to help them.

“I'll do what I can,” Hook offered. “Should we start now?”

Charming sighed and nodded, his hands on his hips.

“Yeah, the sooner we repair the place the easier it'll be to live in it.”

Hook gave a simple nod of his understanding and the two of them left the dining hall to get to work.

Once they were out of earshot, Hook looked over his shoulder to ensure Snow hadn't followed before he spoke.

“How's that solution to your little problem coming, eh?”

“I haven't been able to get away,” Charming said as the two of them continued down the main hall.

“You planning on runnin' out on your family?”

“No. Of course not,” Charming reassuringly said as he spoke in a hushed tone. “I just need to slip away for an hour or two. Maybe get my hands on a horse to make the trip go faster.”

“Well, didn't Emma and the Queen just take their boy out to see some horses? Find out where they went and borrow one.”

“Right,” Charming agreed then furrowed his brow in confusion and suspicion. “Okay, since when do you want to help anyone but yourself?”

Hook hesitated.

“That poison coursing through your veins is something I've dealt with before. It...it took my brother from me and I'd hate to see it take you from your family. Are you happy I confided in you, Almighty Prince?”

“I...I'm sorry. I didn't know.”

“Of course you didn't. I'm a pirate. I'm not known for sharing.”

“If...if you really want to help me take care of this Dreamshade, maybe you can do me a favor.”

“And what's that?”

“Cover for me tonight. After dinner. Don't let anyone come into my chambers, not even Snow, until I return. If I get a horse, it won't take more than two hours to get there and back.”

“Where is it you plan to go to cure yourself,” Hook asked.

“The same way Emma and Mary Margaret made it back to Storybrooke from here. Lake Nostos.”

 


	15. Chapter 15

“Okay. I am _seriously_ never riding a horse again,” Emma complained as she, Henry, and Regina headed back to the palace on Mireya and Sammy.

Emma shifted on Sammy as she moved along at an all too steady and slow pace. She grimaced and squirmed without a saddle beneath her and yet, she was the only one having difficulty riding.

“Quit whining,” Regina lightheartedly scolded with a smile.

“Excuse me, but I'm not a skilled rider like someone else here. There's...” Emma shifted again then yelped and hissed before she hunched over and tried to reposition herself again. “There's chaffing and throbbing and lots of other uncomfortable things happening in very bad places.”

Regina's smile curled into a pleased smirk.

“Tell me you're not saying what I think you're saying,” Henry piped up as he looked over at Emma with a disgusted look on his face.

“I'm saying exactly what you think I'm saying, kid.”

“Gross!”

“No, gross is the fact that I haven't felt this messed up since I pushed you out in the delivery room,” Emma said through partially gritted teeth as she tried one position after the other and tried not to fall off Sammy at the same time.

“Mom,” Henry exclaimed. “I don't want to know.”

Regina wanted to yell at Emma for purposely scarring their son, but she honestly couldn't care as she watched Emma struggle again and again to get comfortable. She only smiled and grinned and raked her eyes over every part of Emma's wriggling body.

“Uh huh. Now you wish you hadn't said anything about my pain now, don't you,” Emma rhetorically asked.

Henry made a few noises to further express his repulsion and after Regina took a moment to look back and forth between Henry and the blonde, she patted Henry's bicep and grabbed his attention.

“Do you think I can use magic to conjure Emma a saddle? It might make things easier on her,” Regina explained to him.

Henry sighed and looked between his two mothers, his brunette mother behind him on Mireya and his blonde mother wincing all by herself on Sammy.

“Yeah, if it'll make her stop talking about her...situation,” Henry agreed.

Regina chuckled.

“But just this once,” Henry sternly added.

Regina nodded and continued to smile as she turned her focus toward Emma then gracefully flicked her wrist.

In wisps of purple smoke, a saddle appeared underneath Emma. The instant the blonde felt it, she sighed with relief. It didn't completely alleviate the pain Emma felt, but it lessened it enough for her to find a comfortable and maintainable position.

“Next time, I want a saddle to _begin_ with,” Emma said as she gripped at the edge of the saddle and balanced most of her weight on her hand.

“Oh, so there _will_ be a next time,” Regina teasingly asked.

Emma shot her a glare.

Regina grinned.

“Maybe you can magic me a heating pad because this is serious,” Emma said.

Regina's cheeks reddened from the laughter she tried to contain.

“We're almost there,” Henry said.

“'Almost there' feels like an eternity to my–”

“We'll be there soon,” Henry raised his voice and cut Emma off with wide eyes to prevent himself from hearing anymore disturbing things from his birth mother.

Emma groaned and shifted on the saddle.

“Soon isn't soon enough,” she muttered even as they approached the palace entrance.

“Well, it seems we didn't run into any ogres today,” Regina started as the distance between the palace and the three of them dwindled. “Although if I remember correctly, they don't usually roam around until the start of nightfall. Either way, we should consider ourselves fortunate.”

“Tell that to my thighs,” Emma continued to complain.

The horses came to a stop in front of the stone steps that led to the palace and Henry and Regina were the first to dismount.

“Holy...hell,” Emma bit out as she cringed with every slight movement of her leg.

Regina looked at Emma then at Henry.

“Go inside and find your grandparents. If you're hungry, ask them to make you something. I'll worry about Emma,” Regina said.

Henry looked past Regina at Emma before he locked eyes with Regina again. He saw the sincerity in her eyes, in her entire expression. He knew he could trust her.

“Okay.”

He lingered for a second more then turned away from them and disappeared inside the palace.

Regina walked over to Emma and gently grabbed the woman's calve.

“Easy,” Regina calmly instructed. “Push through it, but at your own pace.”

“I feel like everything below the waist is on _fire_ ,” Emma said through clenched teeth as she moved slower.

“I'm sure Henry's birth was much more painful.”

“Yeah, but this is a close second. Ah!”

Only half of Emma's leg had been swung over the horse before the blonde stopped everything and just clutched at the saddle as her body clung like to Sammy like a koala bear.

“You're almost done,” Regina encouraged her as she let go of Emma's leg and started to rub the small of Emma's back.

“I can't. I don't want to do it anymore. Just magic me off the horse,” Emma said and sounded on the verge of tears.

“Take a deep breath,” Regina soothingly started. “And just slide off.”

Emma scrunched up her face in confusion as well as pain at the tone of voice uncommonly heard from the brunette beside her.

“Why are you being so nice to me,” Emma asked through gritted teeth as she attempted to bite back the soreness in her lower body.

“Why don't you focus on getting your ass out of my face before you start asking questions about my behavior,” Regina rhetorically asked, her voice back to her usual annoyed and raspy timbre.

Emma grunted and finally managed to fully dismount from the horse. She jumped down onto her feet and hissed when she felt her thighs tremble from the shock of hitting the ground once again. Slowly, she turned around to face Regina who stood nearby, but kept her hands to herself without any offer to help Emma more than she already had.

“For someone who kissed me pretty passionately in Tink's hideout, I think you actually _enjoyed_ my ass in your face,” Emma teased with a smirk.

“Excuse me, but I believe it was _you_ who kissed _me_ ,” Regina quipped as she turned toward the palace and started to head up the steps.

“Mm, I may have initiated it, but I certainly didn't grab at you like I wanted so much more. Can you honestly tell me after all that we've been through now that all I'm getting is your stupid shirt?”

Regina's jaw dropped just a bit at those words. She turned her head to look at Emma while the two of them walked toward the palace entrance side by side.

“I don't know what's more troublesome about that question. The fact that you think one of my most comfortable shirts is stupid or that you think you stand a chance with me,” Regina said as she continued to climb the small set of stairs up to the double doors of the palace.

“Okay, well, you can pretend all you want, but I know you felt something when you kissed me. I had nail marks on my hips for most of the next day to prove it.”

Regina closed her mouth only to gulp and avert her eyes to help conceal the blush that crept across her cheeks.

Both women reached the palace entrance, but Emma gently wrapped a hand around Regina's forearm, close to the brunette's elbow, and stopped them before they went inside.

“Look, I don't know what's going on between us. Blame it on the heightened emotions of losing Henry and the hurried search to find him, but...it was...nice.”

Regina nearly scoffed as if that was the very least Emma could say about their situation.

“And I'm not just talking about the kiss,” Emma continued when she saw the less than pleased expression on Regina's face. “The way we talked when you made me hot chocolate. That was nice too. I mean, the subject matter wasn't, but I'm pretty sure we needed to get that stuff off our chests.”

Regina had no response prepared and none that came naturally to her either. She was speechless.

“So,” Emma awkwardly said after an uncomfortable moment passed between them. “You think we should split time between who's bed Henry sleeps in each night until he can sleep by himself again?”

“I...” Regina shook her head to clear her thoughts and break out of her inability to speak. “I figured Henry would decide where he sleeps. If he comes back into my room tonight, that's where he'll stay. If he goes to yours...”

Emma nodded her head in agreement as Regina trailed off, though she wasn't too happy about Regina's answer. It made sense and it was fair to Henry for him to choose which mother he went to if he needed one of them, but Emma feared things would turn out the way they had the night before. She worried she wouldn't be able to sleep until she at least saw the kid, but even that wouldn't be enough. And she wasn't sure if she could get away with sharing Regina's bed again just to get a good night's rest.

“We should probably head inside before your parents think I did something awful to you,” Regina said, effectively pulling Emma from her thoughts as the brunette turned toward the palace doors and stepped out of the younger woman's loose hold on her.

“Right,” Emma forced a smile as she followed after Regina.

When they walked in together, Regina didn't know what she'd expected from the Charming's. She truthfully almost hadn't thought about it at all. But when she found Snow White and her darling prince in the drawing room, she had not expected the look on Snow's face.

Henry sat with Charming as the two of them played with a few possessions that had somehow luckily remained intact after the curse's destruction of the land. The objects weren't necessarily play things, but Charming and Henry hadn't hesitated to tinker with them regardless.

Snow stood near the drink cart with a smile on her face as she watched them talk about the artifacts, Henry with wide-eyed wonder and Charming with joyous pride. Once she noticed the blonde and brunette finally join their little group, her features changed from the soft and happy glow that made her appear as precious and ethereal as her name suggested. Instead, she seemed struck with a slightly alarming idea or two at the sight of Regina and Emma together.

Regina physically stayed a step ahead of Emma and the two hadn't even so much as held hands upon their entrance so the former Evil Queen hadn't understood Snow's expression. Suddenly, the Savior's mother appeared to have seen something the others hadn't.

Snow seemed stunned, but it was different than all the times Regina had seen the woman visibly shaken, especially when it had been by her own doing. She stared mostly at Regina though she did manage to look between the two mothers, both blonde and brunette.

“Hey,” Charming greeted with a warm smile as he looked up at Emma and Regina in the archway of the room.

Apparently, he was the only one with enough sense to talk at that moment.

“Henry said you three had a good time on the horses today,” Charming tried to make conversation.

“Yeah,” Emma replied from behind Regina.

Snow and Regina seemed to separate themselves from the room entirely as they just stared at each other. The tension between them was palpable, but no one else seemed to notice their silence and awkward staring.

“Although, I'm glad I've never had to ride a horse before because I swear I broke my hymen for a second time when I was on that thing.”

Henry scrunched up his face in confusion while Regina and Snow instantly and simultaneously blinked out of their little moment to oddly stare at Emma.

Charming's eyes widened and he coughed as though to clear his throat while his entire body tensed.

Emma looked from Charming to Snow and lastly, to Regina.

“What,” she asked when she saw Regina's expression.

The brunette hadn't seemed happy to hear the woman's comparison of riding a horse to losing her virginity, but Emma remained blasé about the statement she casually defended as though there was nothing wrong with what she'd said.

“What's a hymen,” Henry asked, his face still scrunched up.

Regina took a deep breath through her nose as she slowly turned from Emma to Henry.

“Something you don't need to know about for a few more years at the _very_ least,” Regina explained.

Emma licked her lips then guilty smiled at Henry before Regina turned back toward her. Chocolate colored eyes narrowed as she glared at the blonde.

“Sorry,” Emma mouthed.

“Right, well, how about dinner,” Charming loudly said as he quickly tried to change the subject.

“Yes,” Snow just as quickly agreed as she moved forward to stand at Charming's side. “It's been a long day apparently.”

Snow paused in her speech and stared straight at Emma when she said “apparently” before she continued.

“I'm sure one of you is hungry.”

“Yeah,” Henry excitedly jumped up with a big smile on his face. “What are we having tonight, Grandma?”

Snow kindly smiled down at him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“What would you like, Henry,” she asked.

“I don't know,” Henry shrugged. “What do you eat in the Enchanted Forest?”

“Fresh kill,” Emma muttered.

Snow clucked her tongue in a tisk of disapproval as she looked at Emma as any scolding mother would look at their misbehaving child.

“I want to have something we can't get back in Storybrooke. If I can't have a sword and be a real prince then I want everything else to be as close to what life is like here as possible,” Henry said as he looked between his mothers and Snow.

“You really don't,” Regina dejectedly corrected her son, but he was the only one to not notice her words.

Emma, Snow, and Charming all looked at Regina with their own interpretation of the woman's words. The only one that seemed the most empathetic if not sympathetic was the Savior.

_Of course._

“We can make this land's specialty,” Charming spoke up again and deferred all attention back to Henry's request. “And _you_ can help me catch it.”

“Really?! Cool,” Henry said with impossibly wide eyes as he beamed up at Charming.

Charming chuckled and clapped a hand on Henry's back as he started to walk him toward the palace's rear entrance.

“Be careful,” Regina said more to Henry than Charming, though for some reason there seemed to be enough concern in her statement for the both of them.

“And please watch out for the ogres,” Snow added as she walked closer to the others.

Charming confidently smiled at Snow like a mischievous but careful man. It was a smile similar to his princely grins that he displayed to Snow when she was most worried or controlling. And just as it always had then, the smile disarmed her in that moment as well.

“We'll be safe,” Charming assured Snow before he looked at Regina and silently promised the same thing.

Charming patted Emma's shoulder as he guided Henry out of the room and sincerely looked at her in a fatherly way that strangely only looked like a softer version of the look he'd given Regina seconds earlier.

When they left the three women alone together, an awkward silence enveloped the room and no one knew what to do. After several long seconds ticked by, Emma spoke up.

“So...what passes as a shower around here?”

“The best you can do here is a bath and that requires water,” Regina answered.

“Okay. Where can I get some water?”

Snow closely watched their interaction as she allowed Regina to answer all the questions she herself could have fielded. Though it wasn't a stimulating conversation between Regina and Emma, there was still something to be said for the way they seemed almost attuned to the other person's unspoken wants and needs.

“There's a water pump nearby that gets water from the closest stream. You'll need a few buckets to collect the water before you pour it into the tub connected to your room.”

“Stream water? That doesn't sound sanitary,” Emma said.

“It's that or you'll reek the rest of the time we're here. And by Henry's apparent excitement about the Enchanted Forest, that might be a while.”

Emma sighed out of frustration as she sagged her shoulders and almost pouted like a petulant child.

“Fine. Then can you help with the water?”

“If it gets you to stop your wining,” Regina said as the two of them started to walk out of the drawing room.

Snow furrowed her brows as she hesitantly followed the two of them into the large foyer.

“How many buckets do you think we'll need,” Emma asked.

“As many as we can carry. They aren't very big and the tubs are fairly luxurious.”

Emma groaned.

“Why couldn't I go with David instead and get someone else to get the bath ready while I was out,” Emma rhetorically asked, but Regina replied anyway.

“Because all the servants that used to work here are currently in Storybrooke.”

Snow stopped where she stood and watched Emma and Regina head toward one of the servant's chambers to retrieve the pales Regina had mentioned. It astonished her to realize Regina apparently remembered their location, even after almost thirty years.

*** * ***

“What do we have here,” Hook asked as he tapped the point of his metal appendage and raked his eyes over the Neverland native.

“I'm not interested in a conversation with you,” Tink tiredly, almost angrily, said as she barely even glanced up at her present company and twiddled with a piece of jewelry the pirate and the fairy both knew wasn't hers.

“Sitting in the Queen's bed,” Hook ignored the blonde's implied request to leave and slowly stepped into the room. “That's a risky thing to do.”

“She won't hurt me,” Tink said.

“And why is that, love? You think she fancies you enough to accept you between her sheets?”

“With her in them as well? It's not as strange as you think.”

Hook's eyebrows shot up toward his hairline, intrigued and surprised.

“Really,” he stated more than asked. “Have you been with her in that capacity?”

“That's none of your business, _pirate_ ,” Tink said as she kept her eyes on the ring in her hand, one she noticed Regina spun around her finger whenever she was nervous.

“Someone's a little testy,” Hook said with a small and crooked smirk.

“I've never been with Regina in that way, no, but there were a few times when we...” Tinkerbell trailed off as she struggled to voice the things she saw pass through her mind like a photo reel of memories that came to light.

“Quite the scandal,” Hook said as he sat on the edge of the bed not far from where Tink sat in the middle. “Our hot headed Queen likes a good lass or two. That's as shocking as it is attractive.”

Tink rolled her eyes.

“It doesn't matter. There's only one woman Regina's interested in these days.”

“You'll let me know when she comes to find you then, right?”

The fairy scoffed.

“Even if it was _me_ she was interested in, I still wouldn't tell you when the mood strikes.”

“Oh,” Hook blinked. “She _doesn't_ fancy you then?”

“Not the way she likes _her_.”

“Am I detecting a little jealousy, mate?”

Tink kept her mouth shut and watched the room light catch the green diamond and glimmer.

“You really like her,” Hook said as he took note of Tink's state.

“We were friends. A long time ago. I thought we could... When she said we could fix everything in Storybrooke, I thought she wanted to start over.”

“You thought you could be more than friends?”

“No, that's not– Maybe that's what I truly wanted, but I thought I _could_ just be friends again. I've been alone since she left me to my protected part of Neverland. I had hoped that having her back would mean I wouldn't have to be alone anymore.”

“Aye,” Hook somberly started. “I too have suffered a lonely fate. It didn't much bother me, not any more than not having Milah around, but I think all this time helping out Swan has got me thinking I need something else. I need more than myself.”

Tink looked up with sad but hopeful eyes that twinkled as she met his gaze.

Neither one of them moved, but neither of them moved _away_ either.

“I've seen how you look at her,” Tink said after a minute. “I know you like Emma too.”

“Too?”

“I'm not someone you can use as a substitute for the real thing. If all you want from me is at least the _idea_ of having Emma or replacing her with the next best thing, I won't do it.”

Hook shook his head.

“I just don't want to be alone. I never said anything about replacing Swan for something, some _one_ , tangible. I know I'm a lowly pirate that's made it more than clear he prefers to have the company of a woman in his bed rather than as an equal, but I think you and me could be good companions. What do you say?”

“I think...that might be a good idea.”

Hook smiled.

“But if you try anything,” Tink sternly started as she pointed a warning finger at the pirate.

Hook smirked as he held up his hand and hook in surrender.

“You can use fairy dust on me or send me off to Regina for that woman to do her worst. I get it. I won't try anything.”

Tink lowered her hand and flashed an amused smile. “Okay...mate.”

*** * ***

Emma emptied a pale into the tub as Regina lifted her own to help draw the blonde's bath. They each had two buckets to collect water in the fewest amount of trips to the pump and so far had filled the tub halfway. The work it required to carry both pales back to the palace, and even further up to the tub in her chambers on the second floor, made Emma's arms almost as sore as her legs. She knew she needed the bath for more than the simple reason of getting clean. She needed it to relax those aching and exhausted muscles.

“What are the chances this water has the magically ability to cure the pain in my body,” Emma asked as she stepped away from the tub so Regina could pour out her bucket.

“Zero,” Regina asked. “I'm sure you'll recover soon enough, however.”

“And what makes you think that?”

“You're in shape and you've managed to fight your way out of worse scenarios.”

Their eyes locked and the two of them immediately stilled. A moment passed between them that spoke volumes without a single word having actually been spoken.

“So have you,” Emma quietly said as she kept her eyes set on Regina's.

Regina thickly swallowed an imaginary lump in her throat, the feeling of it brought on by the intensity of their gazes and the emotions that strongly flowed between them.

“Shall we get more water or do you think you can bath with what you have,” Regina asked as she broke eye contact to inspect the tub.

“Uh,” Emma sputtered out as she followed Regina's eyes to the tub. “Yeah, I think this is good. Do you want to take a bath too? I can...help get you water too. You helped me, I help you?”

“No, that's fine. I'll get my own water,” Regina said as she briskly tried to flee the room.

“Regina,” Emma called out as she scrambled to hurry after her.

“I'll see you downstairs after your bath,” Regina threw over her shoulder as she swiftly toward the chamber door.

“Regina, wait,” Emma said as she hopped beside Regina then slid between the brunette and the door, effectively pinning herself against it.

Regina pulled herself back a step to put a small amount of distance between the two of them and waited with slightly widened eyes to hear what Emma had to say.

“Let me repay you for helping me, okay? We don't even have to talk if you're uncomfortable.”

Regina calmly exhaled.

“Fine.”

Emma started to smile.

“But no talking,” Regina warned.

And they didn't talk.

They didn't talk as they filled bucket after bucket with water. They didn't talk as Regina struggled to carry up her buckets on their second trip to her bathroom or when Emma's hand brushed over Regina's as she took one of the pales from the brunette to lighten the weight. They didn't talk when they filled Regina's tub with three more pales worth of water than Emma's or when they parted ways at Regina's door.

They left all four buckets outside of Regina's chambers in the hallway before Emma headed back to her own room and Regina closed the door upon Emma's departure. All without a single word uttered by either of them.

It hadn't been awkward either. They had managed to work together without vocalizing anything and left on good terms though they'd never even said “see you later” or exchanged a “thank you” and “you're welcome.”

Regina went to her bath while Emma went to her own. Emma smiled as she disrobed and stepped into the warm water of her bath while Regina pondered the near insanity of her feelings for one Emma Swan.

She questioned the ability of Jack Sparrow's compass then wondered if it would be so terrible to want Henry's biological mother. She loathed Emma's parentage and the fact that it meant she had Snow White's blood in her veins, but then she accepted the fact that Henry did as well and she couldn't hate him for that or anything else. So how could she hate Emma for something the blonde had no control over?

Though she never hated Emma for that. Just as she never really hated Snow for having a child. She did, however, hate that she'd started to develop some kind of positive feelings toward her former stepdaughter's offspring and rightfully for more than one reason.

Regina spent most of her bath condemning the idea of her and her technically step-granddaughter only to wish the woman would kiss her again, knowing it would quiet her thoughts and strike a spark deep within her she hadn't felt in too long a time.

*** * ***

Though Regina had many conflicting and heavy thoughts during her bath, she still seemed to finish before Emma when she returned to the first floor of the palace to discover everyone except the blonde and Rumpelstiltskin in the dining hall. She furrowed her brows at the strangeness of Emma's absence, but followed the laughter that led to one of the kitchens instead. She checked in to see Henry happily learning how to prepare their dinner with Snow and Charming on either side of him before she decided to check in with Emma.

She paid no attention to Tink and Hook, who suddenly seemed like old friends as they sat and talked at the dining table, and headed up to Emma's chambers. She knocked a couple times without any kind of response before she took it upon herself to enter.

Regina slowly pushed open the door and cautiously stepped into the room unlike her usually nosy or overly confident self that would burst into a place without a care as to whom she disturbed or what she found inside.

“Emma?”

Regina took a few more steps into the room and heard the smallest of shuffling in the adjoining bathroom before a familiar blonde padded out from behind the door and into the bedchamber.

“Regina,” Emma exclaimed with surprise as she looked at the other woman with a deer-in-headlights expression.

“Sorry to intrude,” Regina started. “I thought you'd be downstairs before me and then you weren't so I thought...”

Regina's eyes refused to stay on Emma's face as she scanned over the younger woman's body.

Emma had yet to put on her shirt and stood only in her tight jeans and the bra Regina had been generous enough to conjure for her the last time Emma needed clean clothes.

The woman's exposed abs were still wet from the bath as well as most of Emma's hair, though the ends had started to curl from self-drying in the time between the bath and that current moment.

“I was waiting for my hair to dry. I had to shake it out a few times and then, well, whatever. You came to check up on me?”

Emma's lips pulled up into a small and lopsided smile.

“I thought Henry would be worried if you were the only one not at dinner,” Regina lied, though it wasn't too bad a lie since Henry probably would have worried if Emma hadn't shown up in the dining hall.

“Is dinner almost ready then? I mean, I don't really want whatever it is they're cooking, but damn I'm hungry.”

Regina shook her head.

“No, no. They're still making it. It seems Henry's enthralled in the whole process. Though they are at least halfway done preparing it.”

Emma nodded.

“Okay. Um, I can be down there soon, it's just that I don't have anything to dry myself off with and my clothes are dirty and I've lived through worse, obviously, but clean body and dirty clothes isn't exactly high on my list of favorite things.”

Regina waved her hand toward the end of Emma's rambling and when the purple smoke cleared, Emma's hair was dry and the woman had a new outfit on that included new panties and a bra that were covered by a shirt and jeans.

“Thanks,” Emma said after she took a few seconds to look over her clothes.

“You're welcome,” Regina curtly nodded before she looked down at the floor.

After a moment of tense silence, Emma took a few steps toward the bed and shamelessly barreled through the quiet.

“So...we got him back,” Emma reverently said with an upward twitch to her lips in a small, relieved smile.

“Yes, we did,” Regina smiled back.

As simple and as common as those words were, Emma was brought back to that moment in the mines after they'd worked together to stop the trigger. There was the same emotion in Regina's voice then as there was in the minutes before their journey into Neverland. Emma was stunned by the similarity, but she was caught more off guard by the electricity and raw emotions between the two women in that grand yet somehow suffocating space.

Regina cleared her throat and caught Emma's attention before she sliced through their impromptu moment of reflection.

“I doubt Henry will be pleased to hear I used magic to conjure your clothes.”

“Only if we tell him,” Emma shrugged. “He doesn't need to know you used your magic to help me with something small but kinda necessary.”

Regina raised an eyebrow.

“What? Just because I agreed to be your magic monitor doesn't mean I'm gonna rat you out for every little spell,” Emma explained. “When you start stealing hearts or torturing people, that's where I draw the line.”

Regina flashed a quick and not too forced smile.

“Thank you.”

Emma replied with a goofy smile that Regina loved but also hated because of how it made her feel.

Regina hadn't spent much time in Storybrooke with that smile of Emma's, but in Neverland things had changed. Things had changed _before_ Neverland, but it took trekking through the woods on a mission to save their son for her to realize it.

“Um, so dinner,” Emma poorly attempted to change the subject.

“Isn't too close to being ready,” Regina supplied. “I thought we covered this.”

“Will I even like it?”

“It's wild game. Did you like what you ate the first time you were here in the Enchanted Forest?”

“Not everything was bad,” Emma shrugged.

Regina chuckled and walked further into the room after she gently closed the door behind herself.

“What was your favorite thing to eat here,” Emma casually asked, oblivious to the closing of distance between the two of them.

“I particularly enjoyed roasted swan,” Regina wickedly grinned as she caught Emma's eyes at the end of her statement.

“That's a thing,” Emma asked, her eyes slightly wider than they had been moments ago.

“It's a delicacy,” Regina practically purred as she continued toward Emma who had also started to step toward her, the two almost meeting halfway.

“You ate _swan_ ,” Emma asked, still baffled by the admission.

Regina laughed and nodded.

“I didn't enjoy it too much though. Only because one of the few times I'd had it, Rumpelstiltskin taunted me and then I...I fell off a balcony.”

“You fell?”

“Yes,” Regina quickly answered. “Why is that so hard for everyone to believe?”

“No one just _falls_ off a balcony, Regina.”

“Well, _I_ did.”

The two of them stopped just in front of each other and kept their eyes locked. Silence surrounded them yet again and the two of them stared and stared.

“It wasn't easy then, was it,” Emma quietly asked.

Regina gulped and shook her head as she refused to look away from the blonde.

“And yet, here you are,” Emma said before she smiled, amazed. “You fought for this. For Henry.”

“So did you,” Regina struggled, but managed, to say above a whisper.

Emma reached out and brushed back a strand of Regina's hair before she ran her thumb across the other woman's cheekbone. After a few seconds, Emma smiled and leaned in.

Regina closed her eyes as Emma's mouth slowly moved closer to hers.

Their lips touched and at first, the kiss was chaste. It was like a sample of ice cream at the creamery: just a little taste before either getting more or choosing something else.

Emma's other hand came to rest on Regina's hip and pulled the brunette closer as she deepened the kiss the second time around. She wanted more. Not something else, not  _someone_ else. She wanted more of Regina.

Regina passionately kissed back, more than ready to dive into whatever resided between herself and the blonde she spent too much time wanting to get the hell out of her town. She grabbed Emma's biceps and squeezed before she lightly raked her nails up the younger woman's arms then wrapped them around her neck.

Emma ran her hand down Regina's cheek and pressed against the brunette's warm chest. She paused for a brief moment there before she continued her descent down Regina's side and felt out the woman's curves through her clothing. She settled her hand on Regina's other hip and spun them before she carefully pushed the woman toward the bed.

Regina pressed a hand to the back of Emma's neck and tangled her fingers in the woman's blonde hair. She arched her back and broke the kiss before she gently pulled Emma's lips down to her throat.

Emma placed a few kisses down her neck toward the brunette's collarbone than briefly separated herself from the woman's skin to kiss Regina's plump and addicting lips again. After that one searing kiss meant to make Regina crave more, just as Emma craved more of Regina, she pulled back to look into brown eyes for confirmation.

Regina could have chose to run away, to put an end to the possibility of over-involving herself with Emma. It was one thing to share their son, it was another thing entirely to share a bed for more than the purpose of sleep.

But she didn't run away. She let the warmth and sincerity of Emma Swan and her loving touch consume her. She leaned in and kissed Emma to show the woman she wanted to go further.

Emma smiled into the kiss before she wrapped an arm around Regina's waist and lowered them onto the bed. She continued to mold her lips to Regina's a few more times as she pulled her arm out from under the brunette and used it to feel more of Regina's body.

Regina whimpered as she felt Emma's fingertips dance across part of her abdomen and she spread her legs apart for Emma to fill the space between them in whatever way the blonde wanted.

Emma took the other woman's cue and slunk down between Regina's parted thighs. Her hips nudged Regina's thighs further apart so they snugly fit together as she started to push her hand up from the brunette's hip to her ribs. Her fingers slipped partially under Regina's shirt and pushed it up with her during her ascent toward one of Regina's breasts.

Regina moaned and arched her back under Emma's touch before she reached around Emma's back and grabbed the hem of the blonde's shirt. She curled her fingers as she clawed at the fabric while she started to peel the shirt off Emma's back.

When the shirt reached the band of her bra, Emma broke their kiss and helped Regina strip her of the garment.

Regina flung the shirt behind them as she threw her hands over her head while Emma's lips came back down on hers. She brought her hands up into blonde hair and held the sides of Emma's face as they kissed and she slid her tongue across pink lips in a silent request for entrance.

Emma parted her lips and met Regina's tongue with hers in a playful dance that soon turned into a battle for dominance. When neither of them won, they slowed the kiss and took that opportunity to just enjoy it and the complexity of their bond.

A moment later, Emma moved down to kiss Regina's neck and tasted the crook between the woman's neck and shoulder as well as the spot right below the woman's ear. She then moved to the space between throat and clavicle and swiped the flat of her tongue over olive skin for a good lick that trailed all the way back up to Regina's jaw.

Emma pulled up and away from Regina's mouth to ensure she didn't kiss the woman again then pushed the rest of Regina's shirt up to the brunette's bra and lowered her hot mouth onto the newly exposed skin. She peppered a few kisses down Regina's stomach before she dipped her tongue inside the woman's navel.

Regina gasped as she instinctively shied away from Emma's tongue like she'd just been tickled and whimpered when she felt Emma press her open mouth against her stomach again and again to get the brunette used to the feeling.

As Emma kissed Regina's stomach, she slid her hands over Regina's sides and pressed the heels of her palms against the woman's hips. She then moved her hands lower and gently pushed Regina's thighs even further apart.

Regina bucked her hips up into Emma's hands while she tightly gripped the sheets on either side of her.

Emma heeded to Regina's need and ran a hand over the woman's covered sex.

Regina's breathing became shallow and she whimpered at the teasing touch.

Emma playfully nipped at Regina's stomach and worked her way back up toward the woman's breasts. She pressed her hand against Regina's center and slid her hand up over the waistband of the brunette's pants, which created a decent amount of friction that caused Regina to moan and tip her head back as she pressed it further into the bed beneath her.

The blonde removed her hand from Regina's lower body in an instant as she focused her attention on the shirt she had yet to completely take off of the other woman.

Regina stared up at Emma with a scowl on her face, but she resisted the urge to groan like a desperate woman. To groan would be to admit she needed Emma and needing someone was just another weakness in Regina Mills' mind.

Emma giggled as she looked at the brunette.

“Easy, Madam Mayor,” the younger woman started. “You could kill me with a look like that and we haven't even gotten to the best part of this yet.”

“Then stop teasing me, _Sheriff_ , and no one has to get hurt,” Regina almost growled.

Emma continued to smile at the woman.

“How about you help me get you out of your shirt if you still want to do this,” Emma suggested.

Regina's expression softened and she sat up. As she moved to get up enough to remove her shirt, Emma positioned herself on her knees and leaned back on her feet as she remained somewhat seated between the brunette's legs.

Emma pulled on the hem of Regina's shirt and the other woman lifted her arms. Within seconds, the shirt was balled up in Emma's hand and then discarded somewhere across the room.

Emma smiled and leaned in. She kissed Regina, who rested her hands on Emma's hips before she slid them up the blonde's sides then around her back.

Before Emma knew it, Regina had unclasped her bra and started to pull the straps down her arms.

Emma pulled away long enough for Regina to rid her of the bra then very, very slowly started to move back in toward Regina for another kiss.

Regina lifted a hand to Emma's chest and pressed her fingertips against her sternum in the valley between the blonde's breasts. She moved her hand over the expanse of Emma's chest from where her fingers touched the heated skin to the place above her beating heart. Her eyes wandered along the same path as her hand, but veered off after a moment of inspecting the place above the Savior's heart. She looked down to drink in the sight of Emma's rosy and slightly hardened nipple. She licked her lips before she lifted her head and met the blonde's gaze.

Emma licked her own lips as she normally did whenever she was nervous or self-conscious and stared into darkened chestnut eyes.

“Don't take this the wrong way, but...you aren't about to take my heart, are you,” Emma asked.

Regina smiled.

“No. Just admiring the magic I can feel thrumming beneath the surface. And the view isn't bad either.”

Emma happily grinned.

“You definitely liked my ass in your face earlier.”

“I never said I didn't,” Regina smirked. “I just made it clear I didn't want it in my face at that moment.”

“Well, Your Majesty...you've got me all to yourself now. Any particular body part of mine you want in your face at _this_ moment?”

Regina's smirk curled into an evil grin as her eyes burned right through Emma's.

“Definitely,” Regina purred before she clawed at Emma's hips and flipped her onto her back. “I may not have been your queen before, but I'll be sure to rule you tonight.”

Regina closed her mouth around one of Emma's pert nipples and sucked before she flicked her tongue over it between her lips.

“Regina,” Emma breathlessly moaned out and arched into the woman's mouth.

Unsatisfied thanks to Emma's earlier teasing, Regina lowered her covered center onto Emma's and started to rock her hips.

Emma moaned again, louder and with more of a strain on her voice as she felt Regina rock against her clit over and over again.

Regina scraped her teeth over Emma's nipple before she gave it a wet kiss then repeated her actions on the neglected nipple.

Emma panted as she reached behind Regina and squeezed the woman's ample ass. She pulled Regina closer with that hand while the woman continued to rock against her and ensured the brunette didn't move even the tiniest bit away from her target.

Regina moaned against Emma's breast while she sucked on the younger woman's nipple then pulled away with a small pop. She then focused her attention on Emma's pants as she slid a hand down Emma's body and the other one met it at the waistband of the blonde's jeans and undid them with ease and efficiency.

She waited no more than a second before she tugged them down as much as she could without Emma's help.

Emma lifted her lower half off of the bed and Regina yanked the jeans down her thighs.

Her pants were off in record time and even though Regina hadn't used magic, Emma was convinced it might have played a part in that somewhere.

Regina lunged forward like a predator and claimed Emma's lips with her own before she rolled her hips and ground down against Emma's sex with less resistance due to the absence of the other woman's jeans.

Emma groaned and immediately started to free Regina from her own pants, which surprisingly happened just as quickly as Regina had gotten rid of her jeans. She looked Regina over from her thighs to her eyes and when she stared up into those familiar brown eyes, she fell into them; fell into Regina.

Emma reached up and gently pulled Regina down to her for a sweet and unhurried kiss. Though Regina had insisted she would rule over Emma, the blonde had other plans for her first time with the Mayor and former Queen. Respect and compassion were two things she knew Regina probably hadn't been afforded in any life and they were definitely two things Emma herself had never been given. So that was her goal. Whether Regina returned the sentiment or not, Emma would do everything she could to give Regina the experience that had been stolen from her.

They tangled themselves up as they unrelentingly kissed, slow and sensual, while Emma unclasped Regina's bra, shimmied out of her panties, and hooked her fingers into Regina's panties. She broke the kiss to breathe, but also took the time to play with the woman's panty line in a silent request to continue.

“Do you think you need permission, dear,” Regina asked as she maintained her position above Emma.

“Everyone should need permission, Regina,” Emma replied. “Not everyone asks for it, but they should.”

Regina's mouth dropped open in shock as she stared at Emma, taken aback by more than the woman's honesty.

“How chivalrous of you,” Regina said when her voice finally returned to her.

“I'm a natural White Knight,” Emma joked as she shrugged with her back still flat against the bed and her hands settled on Regina's thighs, the woman's panties still on. “Charming even.”

Regina smiled and rolled her eyes.

“If you still want to do this, I suggest you refrain from talking about your father during foreplay,” Regina said.

“Well, you still haven't given me permission to 'do this' so–”

Regina sighed.

“You may have sex with me, Miss Swan,” Regina said.

“'Miss Swan' is a little formal for sex, don't you think?”

“ _Emma_ ,” Regina amended.

The younger woman beamed.

“Let's get on with it,” Emma said with a grin and waited until Regina knowingly smirked back before she started to pull down the other woman's panties.

Just as Emma reached Regina's knees and the brunette attempted to move in a way that would permit an easier removal of the undergarment, Emma gripped the backs of the woman's thighs and flipped them over.

Regina landed on her back in an instant and watched Emma strip her of the last bit of her clothes. She was laid naked in front of Emma, her knees bent and legs spread for the younger woman to do what she pleased. She felt absolutely vulnerable and yet, when she saw the way Emma looked at her, she felt indestructible at the same time.

Emma filled the space between Regina's legs with her body as she lowered herself on top of Regina for another kiss and another one after that. When she smiled into one of the kisses, she felt Regina smile as well. She let them revel in the quiet and beautiful moment, the two of them blissful, before she ended the kiss and continued the moment through other courses of action.

Regina arched under Emma's touch as the blonde's fingers swayed over, down, and up her exposed body. She felt the blonde everywhere on her skin and the occasional goosebumps the Savior had created beneath her wandering hands.

Emma's mouth came down to Regina's chest and stomach and lower still as she teased one of the most intimate parts of the woman, though her lips never even felt the other woman's bundle of nerves let alone any other area of Regina's sex. She kissed everywhere in between Regina's hips and clit with no intention for her mouth to travel any further south.

Regina moaned and groaned and tried, though her mind wasn't entirely comfortable with the idea just yet, to bring Emma closer and lower to the place that desired to be touched sooner rather than later.

But Emma fought off every nonverbal request and moved back up Regina's body until she could properly look into the brunette's eyes, one hand pressed onto the bed between their bodies and Regina's parted thighs while the other rested beside the woman's expectant form.

“We made it,” Emma said after a moment that she spent just studying Regina's features. “Together.”

“I thought we already established that,” Regina replied.

“Our best chance...” Emma started and her lips curled into the most extraordinary smile that made the blonde glow. “You're my best chance, Regina.”

Regina smiled and breathed out a small laugh.

“And apparently you're mine.”

Emma lit up again before she leaned in and kissed Regina, sensual and illuminating.

Regina whimpered into the kiss as Emma then massaged her clit. She jerked her hips up toward Emma and the two of them found a rhythm, a perfect and unique and glorious cadence only they could create together.

Emma slid two fingers through Regina's wet heat before she slipped them inside the other woman who broke their kiss with a gasp.

They started off slow and steady before both needed more and picked up the pace. Though they'd both delved into the more painful and rougher aspects of sex with other partners, together they refused to feel pain.

Emma sped up her pace with passion, not with fury or lust for instant gratification. She kissed Regina until their rushed and erratic breaths made it impossible for their lips to fuze together. She brushed their lips together in a promise for more, but lowered her mouth to Regina's neck. She latched on to the spot below the brunette's ear; a spot Emma quickly figured out made Regina shiver and moan.

Regina ran her hands over Emma's shoulders, arms, sides, down her back, and finally felt out the swell of her ass. She pulled Emma as close to her as possible as she met the woman thrust for thrust and emitted quiet but audible sounds of pleasure each time the heel of Emma's palm brushed and applied pressure to her clit.

Every so often, Emma switched out the heel of her palm for a touch, flick, or circle of her thumb. And Regina's sounds of pleasure became louder every single time.

“Emma,” Regina moaned as she held onto the woman for dear life.

Regina clawed and clung to the blonde as she tightened around Emma's fingers while several other muscles tensed as well.

And then, suddenly, Emma found just the right spot when she pushed into Regina.

“Emma,” Regina moaned louder, her voice breathy but thick.

Emma understood.

No one before had understood.

But Emma did. Emma was the only one. She understood.

Emma repeated the action a few more times as she rubbed circles over Regina's clit with the heel of her palm to the best of her abilities until–

Regina arched into Emma's touch and threw her head back as a loud and drawn out moan tumbled out of her parted, lipstick-less lips.

Her eyes were squeezed shut tight a split second before Emma felt her let go, unraveled in the most enjoyable way. When evidence of Regina's pleasure coated a little more than Emma's fingers, she watched Regina's expression relax into one of pure bliss.

Regina kept her eyes closed for a couple more seconds before she looked up at Emma, the insufferable woman above her with a smile formed out of awe and admiration for the woman she focused her gaze on. The brunette felt a thin layer of sweat stick to her overheated body as her chest heaved in the aftermath of her orgasm. Her cheeks were flushed as she stared up into shiny green eyes and she tried not to appear so satisfied, but Emma saw right through her.

“I've got to say, Regina, I'm really jealous of you right now.”

“And why's that, dear,” Regina asked as she continued to pant, her voice partially raspy.

“Because you always look beautiful no matter what.”

Regina didn't smile, but she didn't frown or scoff or reject the compliment at all.

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I imagine compared to a slob like you, I'll always look beautiful,” Regina playfully quipped.

Emma scoffed in mock offense as she lightly slapped Regina's bicep then rolled onto her side next to the exhausted brunette.

Regina turned her head to watch Emma roll over before she too rolled onto her side and faced the blonde.

“Did I ever thank you for saving me from Ursula,” Emma asked after a moment.

Regina furrowed her brows.

“I'm not sure,” Regina admitted.

“Well, thank you. And thanks for teaching me magic, and for healing me, and for helping Mary Margaret when I asked you to. They call _me_ the savior, but I think it's obvious who the true hero is.”

“Surely you're not about to say it's me.”

“The woman who not only fights on the side of good, but who also fights herself and her old ways every second of every day. It's you, Regina. Don't act surprised and don't deny it.”

“I'm not that woman.”

“I told you not to deny it.”

“I don't want you to idolize me. I'm not–”

Emma cut Regina off with a kiss, simple and chaste though seconds ticked by before either of them pulled away.

Regina remained in place when Emma pulled back. She opened her eyes a little slower than Emma had and when she did, she saw the blonde's smile once again.

Regina stared at Emma with a ghost of smile on her own lips.

Emma felt the heat in the room rise with that one look even though there was nothing predatory or sexual about it. But there was emotion, true and powerful emotion, in that one look.

Regina leaned forward as her eyes fell from green eyes to pink lips. She sweetly, tenderly, kissed the blonde.

Emma quickly gave into the kiss and offered submission when Regina started to roll on top of her. The blonde moved with her and rolled onto her back to grant the woman what she wanted.

Just like before, Emma and Regina moved together at their own pace. Everything was just slow enough to communicate the compassion in Regina's soft touches.

When Emma reached orgasm, she pulled Regina down for a kiss but hotly moaned against her mouth until her body settled and the wave of pleasure washed over her after the initial crash of her release. Then she kissed the other woman.

Regina tried her hardest not to fall, but her weak and worn out muscles protested to the point of surrender and she collapsed on top of Emma.

Emma wrapped her arms around the brunette and held her while Regina turned her head and moved a little down the woman's body to rest her cheek against the blonde's chest.

“Between you and the horses today, I think I'll be lucky if I can walk tomorrow,” Emma said.

“Mm,” Regina hummed as she closed her eyes.

“Are you going to sleep?”

Regina took a deep breath and exhaled with another hum.

“I think people will notice if we don't show up for dinner,” Emma said as she started to run her fingers through Regina's hair.

“If you don't want me to sleep, I suggest you desist brushing through my hair with your fingers,” Regina grumbled, her eyes still closed.

“Not gonna happen,” Emma said as she slowly closed her own eyes. “I guess we could spare five minutes, right?”

“There's no way you're leaving here before me, dear,” Regina said. “I'm weighing you down and right now I can't seem to find the strength to get up.”

“Then I guess it's a good thing I don't mind,” Emma quietly said before the talking stopped and both women drifted off.

*** * ***

They rested for what felt like ten minutes, but it was closer to thirty. The sun had been poised to set before they fell asleep and when Regina woke, there was no light in the room. It wasn't entirely dark in the bedchamber, but she knew they had rested far longer than they had agreed.

With a jolt and shake, Regina managed to wake Emma and the two of them scrambled around in the dark for their discarded clothes. Neither spoke unless it was to help the other in their frantic search for panties and bras, which got mixed up and exchanged in the dark.

Regina, once dressed in her pants with her shirt in hand, moved to the chamber door and manually lit the torch on the wall. The orange flame lit up a portion of the room and exposed Emma in only her shirt and panties as she attempted to yank her tight jeans on. For a moment, Regina stopped what she was doing and watched Emma with amusement as she thoroughly enjoyed the sight of Emma's breasts jumping up and down with each tug of her jeans. She grinned as she observed until Emma looked up at her.

“Yeah, yeah, they're dancing for you. Hilarious,” Emma sarcastically said before she furrowed her brows and focused her eyes on the brunette's chest. “Is that my bra?”

Regina looked down and noticed it was the same bra she'd conjured for the other woman. She frowned and looked back up at Emma who only had one hand on her jeans as she pulled her shirt away from her chest to inspect the bra she wore.

“We'll have to share,” Regina said. “Hurry up and get those pants on. It'll already look suspicious enough if we're late for dinner.”

Emma let go of her shirt and rolled her eyes before she resumed the insanely difficult task of pulling her jeans on.

“It's not like I said the same thing before we fell asleep,” Emma mumbled, but Regina heard every word.

Regina chose not to comment, however. Instead, she threw her shirt on and went over to help Emma with her jeans.

“You know, what _if_ people found out about us,” Emma said as she let go of her pants when Regina eliminated the space between them and grabbed the waistline then started to tug. “I'm not some teenager that has to sneak around when she has sex and that's exactly what this feels like.”

“I'm not hiding anything,” Regina insisted before she pulled again at Emma's jeans. “But if this is something we want to let your parents in on then I want us to talk to Henry about it first.”

Regina pulled again and successfully got Emma into the skin tight denim while she made the blonde dance her way into the pant legs and brace herself on Regina's shoulders. She then zipped and buttoned Emma's jeans for her.

“Is this something to discuss with Henry or was it just this once,” Regina asked as she stared seriously into Emma's eyes.

“I'm in this if you are. You, me, and Henry. And...my parents.”

“And a fairy and a pirate and an imp,” Regina added with a smile.

“I have no problem leaving them out of our love life.”

“ _Love_ ,” Regina asked as she raised an eyebrow and smirked.

“Oh, come on. Don't make me go all Gracie Hart on you.”

When Regina's only response was a look of utter confusion, Emma frowned.

“Seriously? Miss Congeniality? You've never heard of Miss Congeniality?”

Regina still looked lost as to what Emma was saying.

“'You really like me. You want to date me',” Emma sang in reference to the movie.

“I have no idea what you're talking about.”

Emma sighed.

“Okay, if Henry doesn't want to go back to Storybrooke, we're gonna get TV and Internet here so I can show you all the amazing movies you've missed out on,” Emma said.

“No indoor plumbing?”

“What?! Of course there should be indoor plumbing!”

“You only said TV and Internet,” Regina teased.

“Because I thought indoor plumbing was a given. That's the _first_ thing on the list of how to fix up the forest.”

Regina laughed, more like giggled, at Emma's little outburst. It was...adorable in the way that a grown woman suddenly seemed years younger in her argument for indoor plumbing and electronics, like it was ridiculous not to think she was the only one concerned about those things.

Emma glared at Regina in response, but she wasn't actually angry.

“We're wasting time,” Emma declared. “Let's go.”

Emma grabbed Regina's hand and pulled her out of the room and down the long hall toward the main stairs.

*** * ***

“Finally,” Snow exasperatedly exclaimed when she saw Emma and Regina enter the dining hall.

Emma had reluctantly let go of Regina's hand just before they stepped through the double doors that separated them from presumably everyone in the palace. With Regina only a step behind her, she took a deep breath before she pushed open the doors then walked in.

The two of them had only just started to head toward the vacant seats on either side of Henry when Snow spoke and Emma looked up to acknowledge the frustrated woman.

“Sorry,” Emma halfheartedly apologized as she took the seat beside Henry that was closest to Snow and Charming.

Regina sat down between her son and Tinkerbell. When she looked beside her at the fairy, the blonde appeared both hurt and angry. She frowned and curiously stared at her old friend before Charming pulled Regina's attention away from her.

“It's okay. We weren't waiting long,” Charming said as he smiled at his daughter. “We were about to start a few minutes ago, your mother's just overreacting.”

Snow shot a warning glare at Charming.

“I am _not_ overreacting,” the woman insisted.

“Easy. I'm okay. Not a scratch on me,” Emma said.

“I beg to differ,” Regina muttered under her breath.

Only Henry, Tinkerbell, and, with acute listening on her part, Emma heard her.

Henry scrunched up his face in confusion while Tinkerbell looked down at the table and thickly swallowed. Emma tried not to make it obvious that the brunette had said anything so she kept her expression neutral and her gaze directed at Snow and Charming while she secretly and strongly wished she was sitting closer to Regina so she could kick her in the shin.

“Look, I'm here. We're all here. And I don't know about anyone else, but I'm hungry,” Emma said.

“Of course,” Snow said as she looked from Emma to Regina.

Snow stared at Regina for a moment before she looked back at Emma then smiled.

“Help yourselves,” Snow said to the group.

Not that anyone needed permission to dive into the food, but they all moved toward the two separate serving trays in the center of the table right as Snow finished talking.

Snow and Charming waited until everyone else grabbed what they wanted before they served themselves and watched as everyone but Rumpelstiltskin – who limped in almost unnoticed, magicked his food onto a plate, and made a place for himself away from the others – picked at the food until they got what they wanted.

Tinkerbell and Hook reached for the same tray. Hook stabbed at a good chunk of food as Tinkerbell moved back to give him the first serving, but as he hefted the meat onto a carving fork he looked at her with sympathy.

Hook brought the carving fork toward her and held it above the fairy's plate before he tilted it and piled the meat together on it.

Tinkerbell looked up from her plate and smiled at him. He smiled back then served himself.

Henry had lazily moved toward the other tray while both of his mothers practically dove for it. He knew if he tried to serve himself, even at eleven years old, at least one of his mothers would have gently patted him on the arm or shoulder and told him to sit back while she prepared his plate for him. Henry leaned back in his chair when Emma and Regina reached for the tray and waited for one of them to do what he assumed they would inevitably do.

Emma and Regina went for the carving fork at the same time, but Emma got to it first.

Regina's hand brushed over Emma's and the two of them looked at each other. Emma sheepishly smiled and Regina tried not to smile back before she cleared her throat and looked down at the tray.

Regina pulled her hand away and motioned for Emma to continue.

Emma continued to smile as she focused on the food and picked up the knife on the other side of the tray to help her lift the meat. She then did something that surprised both Henry and Regina and placed the meat on Regina's plate before either Henry's or her own.

Regina tried to conceal the blush that bloomed on her cheeks with a pursed smile, but her appreciation was obvious despite her attempts.

“Thank you,” she quietly said so only Emma and Henry heard her.

Henry's eyes darted between both of his mothers as he curiously observed their behavior toward one another.

“You're welcome,” Emma said before she grabbed a few more pieces of meat and set them on Henry's plate.

Emma served herself last, but she also gave herself a larger portion than Henry and Regina.

Henry was fine with his serving size, but Regina did the oddest thing.

“Pardon me,” Regina politely said to Henry as she reached across him with her fork.

Regina then stuck her fork into two pieces of meat from Emma's plate and grinned as she deposited them onto her own plate, her eyes focused solely on Emma the entire time.

“Steal my food again and see what I do,” Emma teasingly warned.

“Please, you're no match for me,” Regina said.

“We'll see about that,” Emma replied before she tried her first bite, which she enjoyed enough not to spit it back out.

“Henry,” Regina said with a frown when she looked over at his plate. “You haven't touched your food yet.”

“Yeah, what's up with that,” Emma asked as she chewed on her second bite. “By the way, you did an amazing job. It's good.”

Regina then tried a piece and moaned her approval as she nodded. She finished chewing before she said, “It is.”

“Sorry,” Henry said. “I was distracted.”

“By what,” Emma asked.

Henry stuffed a piece of meat into his mouth and hummed as a smile spread across his face.

“Good,” he mumbled through a full mouth of food.

“No talking with your mouth full,” Regina lightly scolded.

“Mhmm,” Henry said as he pointed his thumb over his shoulder at Regina while he looked at Emma. He then spoke again as he continued to chew. “What she said.”

Emma chuckled and looked over the top of Henry's head at Regina. She shook her head while Regina laughed along with her.

*** * ***

After dinner, Snow cleared the plates and did what she could to scrub them clean without running water as Hook pestered Regina while Emma play wrestled with Henry. Tinkerbell saw the way Regina's eyes always found their way to Emma and Henry and a smile would grace her plump lips so the fairy offered to help Snow in the kitchen to avoid the sight.

Rumpelstiltskin had gone elsewhere and hadn't talked to anyone as he plotted a way to get back to Belle, the only thing he had left to motivate him to do anything. No one else seemed rushed to get back to Storybrooke and he certainly didn't want to have to listen to the one handed pirate sing whenever he purposely wandered down Rumpel's end of the hall at night.

The pirate had spent the previous night outside of Rumpel's chamber door and loudly sang a tune that didn't rhyme and seemingly had no rhythm. Though, Rumpel supposed that part was intentional. Hook probably figured it would drive him crazy, which it certainly did.

Even when Rumpel had yanked open the chamber door and growled out several unpleasant threats, Hook didn't back down. He had slurred his words as he smugly smirked at Rumpel then casually waved his hook around until Rumpel threw him back a few hundred yards with his magic.

Hook had laughed all the way back to his room after he had picked himself up off the marble floor and Rumpel, for the most part, slept well after that. Though he certainly didn't want an encore from his enemy.

Tinkerbell and Snow washed and dried all the plates and trays. Snow thanked the blonde fairy for her help then went up to her bedchamber to check on Charming.

Tinkerbell was left with nowhere else to go but back into the dining hall with the others. When she did, Regina had finally dismissed the pirate and joined Emma and Henry. She sighed and looked away from the happy family as Emma tried a few play fight moves on Regina out of good fun. She stepped up to the pirate who was about to console her with a reassuring pat to the back when a shriek irrupted from the second floor.

Everyone scurried out to the grand foyer and looked up the staircase when Snow White appeared with a sorrowful yet somehow stern expression on her face.

“Charming's gone,” she announced.

“Are you sure,” Emma asked. “Maybe he's just in another part of the castle. This place is huge.”

Snow shook her head.

“He said he was going upstairs to rest. He's not in the room,” Snow insisted. “He left.”

“Why would Gramps leave,” Henry asked.

“I don't know,” Snow said as she descended the stairs.

Hook chewed on his thumbnail as he glanced at various spots along the palace walls.

“I'm sure he's fine, Snow,” Regina said as she dismissively waved a hand.

“Well, it _is_ kind of weird for him to just leave without telling anyone,” Emma said as she looked at Regina.

“Maybe he just needed some fresh air,” Tinkerbell suggested.

“Then why wouldn't he just say so,” Emma asked.

Tinkerbell shrugged.

“He doesn't have to tell everyone what he's doing every second of the day,” she answered. “You should understand that better than anyone, _Princess_.”

Venom seeped out through Tinkerbell's lips when she spat out the royal title and caused Regina to narrow her eyes out of confusion and suspicion as she stared at the fairy.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean,” Emma asked as she took a combative step toward Tinkerbell.

“You tell me,” Tinkerbell crossed her arms over her chest and stayed in place, but didn't engage in any fighting stance.

Snow watched her daughter try to go toe to toe with Tinkerbell and wanted to sigh at the childishness as well as the fact that the two of them couldn't seem to get along, but her eyes went from the two blondes to the shifty man beside Tinkerbell and she narrowed her eyes at him.

“You know something,” Snow accused as she stepped closer to Hook.

“Not a thing, love,” Hook quickly assured as he drew his thumbnail away from his mouth and held his hand and hook up in surrender.

“That'd be more reassuring if you weren't backing away,” Emma jumped in as she suddenly noticed his odd behavior, her issues with Tinkerbell pushed aside to focus on the lying pirate.

“Look, even if I do know something and Charming is out there somewhere, what would be so wrong about that?”

“The fact that there are ogres out there and he felt that whatever his reason for being out there must be serious if he didn't talk to me about it,” Snow growled. “Now you tell me where my husband is or I'll make you hurt in ways you thought a _non_ -evil queen could.”

Hook continued to back away as both Emma and Snow stalked toward him like two predators ready to pounce on their prey.

“Where's David,” Emma asked Hook, on edge all of a sudden.

Hook tensed, his shoulders raised.

“I don't–”

“Lie to me again and see what I do to the hand you have left,” Emma said as she angrily stared him down.

Hook sighed.

“Alright. Fine,” Hook started as he relaxed and sounded a little regretful to admit what he was about to say. “He went to Lake Nostos.”

“What,” Snow and Regina asked in unison.

“Why,” Emma asked as she stepped closer to Hook.

“Snow and Henry weren't the only ones affected by Dreamshade,” Hook said.

Snow sadly looked down at the floor.

“So, David's been poisoned,” Emma stated.

Regina reached out and grabbed Emma's arm. She tried to stop the blonde from getting any closer to the pirate, but Emma yanked her arm free.

“You and him kept quiet about it and now he what? Decided to go to Lake Nostos to go back to Neverland for a cure?”

Hook shook his head and looked down.

“Then what's he doing there,” Emma asked.

“The water has regenerative properties,” Snow piped up as she lifted her head when she came to the realization.

Emma turned to Snow, her features softer than when she'd interrogated Hook.

“I think he plans on drinking it to try and rid himself of the poison,” Snow finished.

“Wh-what happens if it doesn't work,” Henry asked.

Hook looked terribly sorry about the answer, but when he looked at Emma's stern gaze he voiced it anyway.

“He'll die.”

“I'm going after him,” Snow said as she quickly headed for the palace doors.

“You're not going alone,” Emma said as she moved toward Snow.

“I'll join you,” Regina stated as she looked at Snow.

“Mom, I want to go too,” Henry said as he looked up at Regina.

Snow opened the doors and revealed a midnight blue sky.

“It's late,” Regina said. “The ogres–”

“But I want to go. I want to see Gramps,” Henry pouted.

Regina looked at Emma and her eyes begged the blonde to stay. When she saw Emma stare back at her with determination, she knew she wouldn't win that battle.

“We'll watch him,” Tink said as she took a step closer to Henry. “I assume Hook won't be joining you so he and I can keep an eye on Henry.”

Regina looked relieved and silently expressed her appreciation to Tink as she mouthed, “Thank you.”

“What? No,” Henry refused. “That's not fair.”

“It's not safe, Henry,” Regina said as she guided him toward Tinkerbell.

“But–”

“Listen to Regina,” Emma said as she warningly pointed at Henry. “Stay here. We'll back soon.”

Henry frowned as Tinkerbell placed her hands on his shoulders and squeezed them only when the boy made a move to follow his mothers.

“We love you,” Regina said before she followed Emma and Snow out the door.

“Fairies can grant wishes, right,” Henry asked Tinkerbell once the three women were gone, his eyes still on the door as though his mothers would return instantly.

“Yes, they can,” Tink answered.

“Can you grant a wish for me?”

“I'm not really a fairy, Henry. I never got my wings. And only certain fairies can grant certain people wishes.”

“Well, is there a fairy out there somewhere who can hear me and grant my wish? Because I really want them all to make it back safely.”

Tink looked down at the top of Henry's head and stared at his brown hair with sympathy and concern.

“I'm sure a good boy like you will get your wish,” Tink said.

Hook looked at Tink and both of them shared an expression of worry and desperation for hope.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TBC


	16. Chapter 16

Henry ran off to keep himself busy while he tried to avoid thinking about his mothers out in the dark running from ogres in the hopes that they could help his grandfather, or at least find him.

 _Snow always finds him_ , Henry thought as he left Hook and Tink standing side by side in the grand foyer.

Since he was raised by Regina and not his grandparents, he was a bit of a skeptic, but his Charming genes prevailed as he focused on and solely believed in the optimism of his grandparents being able to find each other no matter what.

The same could not be said for the two people who chose to stay behind with Henry. Hook and Tink knew what the Enchanted Forest was like and they’d each been through one ordeal or another that convinced them positive thinking took a lot of work, and if it was easy it was because of naivety.

Which is why Hook diverted their attention with another subject matter.

“When do you plan on telling the Queen you heard their private moment in her chambers earlier,” he asked as he slowly turned to face the blonde fairy.

Tinker Bell looked at the pirate and hesitated before she answered him. “I probably won’t,” she admitted. “It’s none of my business what they do and if Regina’s happy then I won’t stand in the way.”

“But it hurt, didn’t it,” he said as more of a statement, like he already knew the answer.

“It certainly wasn’t a comfort to hear just how pleased Regina was with Emma, especially since I had hoped that I might have been the one to make her feel that way.”

“Well, if it’s any comfort to you, I’m not exactly ecstatic that _Emma_ chose _Regina_ either.”

Tink flashed a sad and empathetic smile.

“Guess that’s yet another thing we have in common,” she said then walked off to find and keep an eye on Henry.

*   *   *

It seemed sleeping with Regina had several pluses. Not only did Emma enjoy the physical aspect of being with the brunette or the fact that they understood and connected with each other on so many levels, but it also meant Emma heard no argument for carrying a weapon like she had while in Neverland. Things had definitely changed between them.

They had been walking for what felt like hours, but Emma knew from all the Neverland trekking it had been no more than twenty minutes. It was dark and there was a chill that came with the occasional breeze that blew past them. So far the three of them were the only ones out in the middle of the forest and Emma hoped it stayed that way.

Although, maybe another person or even an ogre would make things more exciting than the awkward silence between Snow, Regina, and herself. At least then Emma wouldn’t have time to wonder if the silence had something to do with Snow knowing about her pre-dinner roll in the sheets with Regina. Because how could she possibly know?

“So, why are we walking,” Emma asked. “Couldn’t we just poof to David?”

“You apparently think differently,” Regina started to correct her, “but I am _not_ a magical lo-jack. I can’t just poof to David. I could poof to a place like the lake, but we don’t know if he’s there yet and if he’s not, he could be in trouble somewhere along the way.”

“We should have taken the horses,” Emma mumbled.

“He should have told me,” Snow said more to herself, though she’d spoken loud enough for anyone in her general vicinity to hear.

“You know him better than I do,” Emma started, thankful for conversation that had nothing to do with the fear that Snow might know about her and Regina. “You said he’s done this before, too. That’s why you knew it was serious when you realized he’d left without telling you where he was going.”

Snow nodded and stared at her daughter as though waiting for a question she knew had to be coming.

“What were his reasons for not telling you before?”

Snow shook her head and sighed. “For the same reasons I wouldn’t tell him where I was going if I didn’t want to say anything; he didn’t want to worry me or put me in what he believed to be danger.”

“It seems for a pairing of True Love, the two of you still have trouble communicating,” Regina dryly piped up. “Some couple.”

“We keep trying to protect each other, is all,” Snow explained. “What would _you_ know about relationships anyway?”

The second the words left her mouth, Snow’s eyes widened and she gasped.

Regina didn’t respond. For once, she glared and didn’t supply a biting and witty comeback. Her eyes shot daggers as a fire wildly burned inside them, her gaze solely on Snow.

“Seriously,” Emma asked, exasperated and on edge. Suddenly, her earlier stress relieving tryst with Regina wasn’t enough to keep her calm given the new development.

“I’m sorry,” Snow quickly apologized. “I didn’t mean that. I wasn’t thinking.”

“That’s your problem. You generally _don’t_ think,” Regina barked.

“Okay,” Emma exclaimed as she held out her arms between them. “Don’t start, you two. David’s out there trying not to die and apparently, there are still _ogres_ and last time I was here, they could only find us by sound. With all the yelling right now, it could lead to Regina throwing fireballs around and then we’re sure to attract attention.”

“I really am sorry, Regina,” Snow said, genuinely heartfelt, and kept her eyes focused more on the ground than the other two women.

Regina took a deep breath and slowly released it as a way to relax. She clenched and unclenched her fists at her sides as she kept her eyes fixed on the forest foliage ahead of them.

Emma usually didn’t opt for public displays of affection or touching in any way aside from whatever applied to her sex life, but she sensed Regina needed an extra push to resist the urge to harm Snow in any way. She discretely slipped her hand in Regina’s and laced their fingers. She ensured they kept their hands between their bodies at a particular angle to avoid it from catching Snow’s attention.

The instant Emma’s fingers tangled with hers, Regina subtly gasped and jumped a little at the contact as though the blonde’s hand was electrically charged.

And though Regina’s gasp was subtle, it was not quiet. Emma was the only to hear it and when she did, her eyes locked on Regina and she smirked.

It only took a second before Regina noticed Emma’s eyes on her. She turned to meet Emma’s eyes and rolled her own when she saw the smug expression on the other woman’s face. She squeezed Emma’s hand and although Emma wished she could kiss the other woman, she settled for handholding.

They walked through a clearing before they were soon crowded by trees, bushes, and tall blades of grass. Things seemed harder to maneuver through and their surroundings appeared darker and more intimidating. That part of the forest screamed, “This is where things go bump in the night.”

 Emma had just found her family and already, her father had gone out in the darkening night where ogres roamed in an attempt to save himself from a fatal poison he refused to tell anyone he was hit with days ago. She had left Henry in her family’s palace with Tinker Bell and Captain Hook so she could search for her father with her long lost mother Snow White and the Evil Queen, recently reformed and even more recently her lover or girlfriend or one night stand—whatever they were to each other after what they’d done before dinner. All of that hit her hard like she had just smacked into a solid wall.

Her breathing became shallow and hurried and she’d never had a panic attack before, but she was sure she was having one then. She was one step away from violently wheezing as thigh-high grass sharply brushed against her arms and made her itch. The need to scratch where the grass tips had touched spiked her temperature and she swore she was breaking out in hives.

She felt a pressure on her hand and realized Regina had just squeezed it, her brown eyes already focused on Emma. Her breathing slowed a little bit and her inhales gradually deepened.

“Thanks,” Emma quietly said with an appreciative gleam in her eyes.

Emma could tell by the questioning and concerned look on Regina’s face that the brunette wanted to understand what had set her off, but for the time being the other woman only offered her silent support. For all that had changed between them, at least one thing would probably always be the same: they knew when to push and when to give the other space.

Emma’s attention was pulled away from Regina when she heard Snow sigh out of frustration beside her.

“What,” Emma asked with a hint of panicked concern.

“The lake is still a long way away and, like Regina said, there’s no telling if he even made it there,” Snow started to get hysterical for the second time that night.

“Relax, Snow,” Regina cut in and saved Emma from having to be the strong one. “He was alone and as much as he trips over his own feet, I doubt he’s attracted anything out here to himself.”

“What did he expect to do when we got back to Storybrooke?! If we hadn’t ended up here, where would he have gone to get rid of the Dreamshade? Would he have just let it kill him instead of fighting it, instead of finding a way to stay with us?”

Emma took a deep breath and tightened her grip on Regina’s hand. She felt another panic attack coming on and all she wanted was for Snow to stop making absolutely everything worse. All the pixie-haired woman was doing was adding to the upsetting thoughts in Emma’s head that pointed out for every time her “parents” claimed to want to be a family with her, they never seemed to think of how their actions affected Emma more so than any of their words ever could. Snow was freaking out about how David was perfectly content to die even after he was reunited with his daughter, like finally having her in his life wasn’t enough to convince him to work with the others to find a way to keep living. And Snow didn’t even realize what her unfiltered thoughts and unchecked emotions did to Emma on top of how the blonde interpreted David’s actions. The blonde may have been an adult, but that didn’t mean she didn’t still need or want a mother. She wasn’t the parent in her relationship with Snow, but she seemed to be the only one holding up the Charming family when things got tough—until she’d gained Regina as a much needed and welcomed ally.

“Snow, if you don’t shut up I will gladly tie you to a tree and leave you here until Emma and I bring David back.”

“I appreciate your help, Regina, but with all due respect you’re only here because of Emma.”

“Someone has to be here for her and that’s clearly not going to be you anytime soon.”

Snow’s eyes widened and she gasped.

“How _dare_ you. I _am_ here for her.”

“Really? Because all you’ve done since we started this little trip is go on and on about what an idiot your husband is while you haven’t even considered that if David _does_ die, you won’t be the only one that loses him. Or am I just misinterpreting why Emma struggles to breathe every few minutes when you keep blabbering about how foolish your beloved prince is?”

Snow immediately looked at Emma as all three women stopped in place. For the first time since they left the castle, Snow saw her daughter. Emma looked up with tense shoulders and a wounded look paired with sad, little girl eyes that drastically shined in the moonlight. She looked back at Emma with an apologetic expression and sympathy in her own green eyes.

Even when the town had been cursed, Emma had never looked as small as she had in that moment. Though it seemed out of character, between finding out fairy tales were real and she was the savior, and then having to fight one evil after another before the endless portal travelling and Neverland, it was too much for one person to adapt to in such a short span of time.

“Oh, honey, I’m so sorry,” Snow said and moved toward Emma with open arms.

Emma flinched and took a step back toward Regina before Snow could touch her and a look of hurt passed over Snow’s features.

Emma and Regina’s joined hands grazed the side of Emma’s thigh before they tapped against the front of Regina’s upper thigh given the newly diminished space between them. Like their combined magic, the touch was familiar and empowering. It calmed Emma and allowed her focus on the task at hand without a haywire emotional interference.

Snow took a deep breath and quickly became more positive and assertive like the optimistic woman she was known to be more than ninety percent of the time.

“We’ll find him. And then—”

A loud, drawn out bellow came from the other side of the trees to their left.

“What the hell,” Emma asked before she and Regina let go of each other’s hand and the three of them ran toward the distressed yelling.

They all emerged from the brush after every low-hanging branch slapped them in the face and every other type of forest foliage scratched and clawed at their arms and legs. As soon as they were out of the thick of the unforgiving forest, they stumbled through sand and looked out at a stretch of beach. And then a bandana-wearing pirate with heavily applied eyeliner flailed his hands above his head while he ran down the shoreline in the same direction the women had previously been headed toward.

“Is that..?” Regina squinted at the man as he kicked up sand more than he made any significant stride forward and away from whatever he was trying to escape due to his sloppy running.

“Jack Sparrow,” Emma answered Regina’s unfinished question seconds before they realized what he was running from.

“Ogres,” Snow exclaimed as though Emma and Regina hadn’t been standing right next to her.

Suddenly, though not unsurprisingly, the band of ogres that were after the continuously yelling Captain Jack Sparrow divided their attention and added the three women to their list of dinner orders.

“Way to endanger us all, Snow,” Regina bit out before the three of them followed Jack’s lead and ran.

“We really should have taken those damn horses,” Emma repeated her earlier expressed opinion with more disdain while they ran.

“We have to get Jack and hide,” Snow said.

“I am _not_ going to save that attention whore’s life just so he can get us killed,” Regina argued.

“We can’t just let him die,” Snow replied. “That’s not the right thing to do. It’s not what _good_ people do.”

Emma could tell by the look on Regina’s face that she hadn’t been the only one to know what Snow had implied by stressing the word “good” when she spoke to Regina. It was Snow’s way of reminding the other woman that she claimed to no longer be evil and by letting a person die, it would be a step back for the reformed queen. Regina was not in a calm mood at that point and Emma thought the brunette would push Snow into the sand at any second so she could leave the woman to die with the pirate.

But she didn’t. Instead, Regina grabbed Emma’s hand and urged her to grab Snow. Emma did as told and the three were engulfed in purple smoke. They only reappeared on the beach for a split second before Regina closed her fist around Jack’s vest and poofed away before the smoke even cleared.

The next time they reappeared, they were miles ahead of where they’d been running and were no longer on the beach. They were back in the forest, surrounded by trees and calf-high grass with one more travelling companion who only stopped yelling when Regina slapped him.

“Hey, what was that for,” Jack semi-slurred and touched the heated part of his cheek that Regina’s hand had made contact with hard enough to leave a red mark.

“Unless you want more ogres to chase you down, you have to control the volume of your voice,” Regina sternly instructed him. “I won’t bring you with us if that happens either, even if it’s not what ‘good’ people do.”

Regina sharply glared at Snow when she said the last part. Snow rolled her eyes and Emma momentarily looked away from the tense interaction to look around them in case there was anything to fear lurking in the shadows.

“Ogres,” Jack asked with noticeable confusion. “There are _ogres_ here? Where _is_ here anyway?”

“You’re in the Enchanted Forest,” Snow supplied him with the answer.

Emma, convinced they were alone, came back to the conversation and asked, “How did you _get_ here? We thought you left us in Neverland.”

“Aye. Just because my ship did the flippy thing to get me there didn’t mean I signed up for whatever you were dealing with. I still don’t want to be a part of any of it, but…my ship did a thingy again and I was here.”

“What do you mean,” Emma asked. “What other thingy did your ship do aside from flipping the first time?”

“Well, I was sailing away and hoping to get out of there by going back to the spot where my ship appeared in the water. There was this…mountain, rock-heap place and I just…I was sailing past it when…poof!”

Jack demonstrated what “poof” looked like by raising a closed fist and opening it with a popping motion.

“There was a flash of light and then I was here, running from _ogres_. …Guess I’m not getting back to my waters for a while.”

“Maybe if you weren’t drunk,” Regina muttered.

Regina’s words brought up a good point so Emma asked, “How much rum have you had?”

“The rum’s gone, luv. Why is the rum always gone?”

Regina rolled her eyes.

“Look, maybe Rumple can help you get back to where you want to be,” Emma started, “but we really need to find someone right now so if we could just get back to doing that…?”

Snow seemed lost in thought while Emma talked, but when the blonde left the rest of her sentence unsaid, an epiphany seemed to dawn on her.

“The compass! Jack, do you have your compass?”

“Aye! I figured you were done with it so I took it back to help me find where my ship had appeared.”

“Give it to me,” Snow demanded.

Jack looked at her with an expression twisted up with bewilderment.

“I need it to find my husband,” she added.

Jack reluctantly forfeited the compass from his control and handed it to her. Snow immediately closed her eyes as soon as she had the closed compass in her possession. After a moment, she flipped open the lid and opened her eyes to see where the needle pointed. It slowly swayed between North and East as it tracked David’s direction and Snow smiled.

“He’s made it farther than we have,” Snow told the group before she looked ahead and took in their exact location.

“We aren’t far from the lake, are we,” Snow said more as a statement than a question when she looked at Regina for confirmation.

“The clearing before the lake is just beyond those bushes,” Regina said and pointed to the tall bushes ahead of them.

Snow’s smile spread and she looked hopeful and relieved. Without another word, Snow took off toward the bushes and Emma and Regina followed. Jack stayed behind for a moment before he decided to go with them, though at a slower pace in his dubious state of mind.

Within seconds, the group pushed through the bushes and saw what was supposed to be the lake. It wasn’t much, just a puddle in the middle of packed dirt. The water was calm, but had no room to really flow, but there was water. There was something.

Both mother and daughter scanned the area, but saw no sign of David. They shared a look of worry before both sets of eyes looked to Regina.

“Oh, no. No, no, no,” Regina a little indignantly started with a shake of her head. “What do you expect _me_ to do?”

“The compass isn’t working just like it didn’t the last time,” Emma stated with a hint of a whine in her voice.

“My compass works,” Jack loudly argued.

“It worked _fine_ last time,” Regina grudgingly muttered between gritted teeth.

Emma furrowed her brow, but Regina continued before Emma could ask any questions.

“You haven’t used the compass since before I poofed us here,” Regina explained.

“But he’s supposed to be here,” Snow exclaimed. “And he’s not. I will _not_ lose my husband, Regina. Do you understand me?”

Snow closed in on Regina and stood almost nose to nose with her.

“You will _help_ me find Charming or I’ll…I’ll…” Snow tried and failed to intimidate Regina.

“I’ll _help_ you,” Regina agreed, “but there’s not much I can do right now.”

“There isn’t some locator spell you can do,” Emma pleadingly asked with puppy dog eyes.

“I might—” Regina didn’t get to finish her sentence.

A tree cracked and whomped down onto the ground on the other side of the hole in the ground lake and the ground shook with a force caused by something not yet seen by the group. Until that something emerged from the forest where the tree had crashed down, something huge and ugly and grayish tan in color. Then it roared and a blast of wind all but started a wind storm in the lake’s clearing.

“Bloody hell,” Jack flatly said as he stared up at the large monster.

“And there’s another ogre,” Emma a little sadly pointed out. “Why did it have to be an ogre?”

The ground shook again, but the ogre the group was faced with hadn’t moved. The four of them whipped their heads to the right and heard a grunt followed by the scrape and clang of metal. Another roar recreated the strong wind machine effect that had previously been done by the only ogre the group could see in front of them.

“ _Two_ ogres,” Emma frantically whispered to keep from attracting more attention to their group.

“Aim for the eyes,” Snow and Regina simultaneously said.

Regina readied a fireball while Snow picked up a handful of nearby rocks. Both opened their stance and, for all their differences and complicated history, they were unbelievably in sync. It scared Emma just as much as it inspired her and she turned back to the ogre with a wider stance herself. She gripped her sword tighter and held it a little higher, at the ready as much as she could be given the troubling circumstances that led them all there.

One of the ogres roared again then swiftly leaned in toward them. He immediately towered over the little group and Snow instinctively threw a rock at its eye before it could get too close.

The rock missed its target and nailed the ogre in the head. Emma’s eyes widened as she watched the ogre go from mad to pissed off in a matter of seconds then open its mouth and let out a louder roar. The force of its roar at its much closer proximity knocked her and Jack onto the ground, but her mother and Regina managed only to stumble back a bit before they regained proper footing.

Regina stood taller once she was able to brace herself against the wind from the ogre’s insanely large mouth and flicked a fireball at it. She didn’t miss.

The ogre growled and raised a hand to its eyes as it staggered back a few steps. His movement caused the ground to shake and that time, Regina and Snow weren’t so lucky.

Emma had just managed to sit up. As soon as she tried to push herself back onto her feet, the ground shook and Regina tumbled right on top of her. She grunted as the brunette landed ass first onto her chest and pushed her onto her back in the dirt.

Snow had fallen to the side, but caught herself against a thick tree trunk. She managed to stand up a lot faster than the other women, but she wasn’t the first on her feet.

Jack, already up and jittery, clutched pebbles and sand and whatever else made up the ground on which they either lay or stood on. He let out a dubious battle cry as the ogre with the burned eyes started to lean in toward them again and then he threw his handful of earthy sediments at the scorch mark Regina had created that acted as a target for which to aim.

Emma placed a hand on Regina’s hip and gave the other woman an idea as to her position beneath her so the brunette could find a way to get up without causing further injury. She nudged Regina with the hand on the other woman’s hip and Regina rolled to the side. The two were promptly extricated and Emma’s first action was to suck in as much air as possible. The impact against the hard ground had effectively winded her and it hadn’t helped that Regina had, though not by choice, sat on her chest.

She coughed as she sat up and Regina, already on her feet, gently rested a hand between her shoulder blades while she slowly stood up.

Regina formed another fireball while Emma brushed herself off and waited for Jack’s antics to draw the ogre closer. When Emma stood up straighter, Regina dropped her hand from the younger woman’s back and kept it down at her side.

Jack threw handful of dirt after handful of dirt at the ogre and, to Regina’s surprise, it got the ogre to back away. Dirt in its already burned eyes seemed to do the trick and it gave up the fight.

The ogre started to walk away, hopefully back to wherever it came from, and left them with only one of two ogres to either deter or defeat. But that other ogre seemed to be preoccupied with something else that none of them could see beyond the trees on the other side of the puddle they called a lake.

“As much as I don’t want to get that thing’s attention,” Emma said, still a little breathless, “we gotta get rid of it.”

“Agreed,” Regina said. “Any suggestions?”

Emma shrugged then yelled, “Hey!”

The ogre whipped its head in their direction and narrowed its blind eyes at the group, but it made no move toward them.

“That was your plan,” Regina judgmentally asked.

“It got its attention,” Emma argued and motioned to the ogre.

“Yes, but it doesn’t appear to be interested in us. Whatever’s over there is more tempting than we are.”

“What _is_ over there,” Emma asked.

No answer was provided. No answer could be provided and for two reasons. The first reason was that no one in the group had been over there so none of the group knew what had fascinated the ogre. The second reason was the pirate.

“Aaaaaaahhhhh,” Jack yelled out with a wavering voice. It made him sound a little like Tarzan and the volume of his voice alone startled the three women.

Jack ran toward the ogre with more handfuls of dirt that seeped back onto the ground through his fingers and apparently poorly clenched fists. He threw what was left of the dirt in one of his hands at the ogre, which remained several feet away from him, and he missed the giant creature completely.

Regina rolled her eyes while Snow furrowed her brow and cocked her head to the side as she watched his lame attempts to fight. Emma just sighed with a hint of defeat before she gripped the hilt of her sword tighter then moved past the other two women and walked toward Jack. The darker haired women almost immediately followed.

All four of them stood on the other side of the very small Lake Nostos, closer to the ogres and the trees it stood within, but they stayed a good distance from it. Thankfully, with all of them a little closer while Jack still yelled his lungs out, the ogre seemed to finally take the bait.

It took a few thunderous steps in their direction and crouched down like King Kong inspecting the humans it saw and didn’t understand. The ogre was almost in their faces and just then, Jack stopped yelling and unsheathed his sword. He jabbed it in one of the ogres’ eyes and right as he removed it, Snow flung a rock at the same eye. Regina weighed in and sent a fireball after the rock, which burned the ogre before it could move away out of pain from the other two attacks.

The ogre roared again and it fell to its death. As it thudded against the forest floor, the group’s knees buckled and they struggled to remain upright. No one joined the ogre on the ground, however. The shaking stopped after a few seconds and everyone was able to right themselves before they had a chance to fall.

Emma breathed out her relief, but the feeling didn’t last long.

Groaning came from where the fallen ogre had once been focused on and Snow gasped just before she sprinted toward the sound.

“Charming? Charming!”

Emma and Regina ran after Snow while Jack watched them run into the forest. He seemed a little lost even though he knew who they were looking for, but eventually he followed them. He, however, _walked_ into the forest.

“Oh my god. Charming!”

He was there. Charming had a hand on his ribs and a pained look on his face while he lay on his side on the ground between a few trees. He was hurt, but he was there. They had found him.

“We need to get him to the lake,” Regina said as soon as she saw Snow attempt to kneel next to him.

“You mean the puddle,” Emma joked, her tone a little flat and too serious to actually lighten the mood.

“Yes, Emma, the puddle,” Regina said with a small sigh and managed to avoid rolling her eyes.

Snow started to lift Charming off the ground and Emma swooped in to help. Mother and daughter worked together to get Charming to the lake, but he was almost dead weight in their arms and it wasn’t exactly a short walk to the water.

“Well, don’t you look dreadful,” Jack said when he saw Charming.

Regina watched the other women struggle for a moment before she took a step back and readied herself. At that moment, only she knew what for, and when Emma looked at her with a question in her eyes and on the tip of her tongue, seconds from leaving her mouth, Regina gave her unvoiced question an answer of sorts.

“Brace yourselves, especially you, David,” Regina said and raised her hands in a familiar way before purple smoke engulfed all four of them.

“Bloody hell,” Jack exclaimed as he watched them disappear.

The smoke cleared and Charming almost fell out of Snow and Emma’s grasp and face first into the lake. Emma grunted when she caught him and took on most of his weight, Snow a little slower and weaker.

Regina conjured a cup and dipped it into the lake. She filled it halfway while Emma and Snow eased Charming onto his knees.

Emma looked up at Regna who stood a little off to the side of them and Regina handed her the cup of water.

“Thanks,” Emma quietly said before she handed it to Charming.

Regina gave Emma a small smile in response that Emma retuned before she watched Charming gulp down the water. When eye contact was lost, Regina walked over to stand by Emma’s side. She leaned over and squeezed the blonde’s shoulder while Emma and Snow were focused on Charming.

Emma placed a hand over Regina’s and briefly looked up at her with another smile. As she turned back toward Charming, she leaned into the touch and rested her cheek over their joined hands.

It was strange and yet it wasn’t. Neither of them were the type to be so quickly touchy feely with another person, but somehow the comfort they provided each other in in small touches and brief but meaningful and understanding looks fit them. It felt normal and right and they might have skipped a few steps in their undefined relationship, but it all seemed to work. They worked.

Emma lifted her head from the hands on her shoulder, but kept her hand over Regina’s. The move pulled Regina’s attention to the three people in front of her and she watched as David coughed then took a deep breath, no water left in the cup.

Snow lifted his shirt and they all saw how much the poison had spread since the last time they’d checked its progress. All of his veins were pitch black and his entire torso and chest, except for around his heart, revealed to be poisoned. A second later, however, and the poison seeped out of his veins and away from his heart.

Snow smiled with tears in her eyes and Emma gasped. The blonde also might not have realized it, but she squeezed Regina’s hand tighter before she breathed out a small bit of relieved laughter.

“You’re okay,” Emma said and removed Regina’s hand from her shoulder, but kept it in her grip.

Regina stepped a little closer to Emma so that the other woman didn’t yank her arm, even if that had never been Emma’s intention.

“Looks like it,” Charming beamed and looked over at her.

His eyes went from hers to her and Regina’s joined hands almost instantly since their hands were at eye level with everyone but Regina. He furrowed his brow at the sight, only slightly, before Snow wrapped her arms around him in a tight and grateful hug. For a moment, he was distracted.

Emma looked to Regina again and she looked younger somehow, more hopeful and happy. She tugged on Regina’s hand and used it to pull herself up.

Regina helped her up and Emma stumbled through some of the distance between them. Some of the space remained, but most of it was diminished. They stood toe to toe and Emma leaned forward the tiniest bit and Regina linked their fingers together.

“I’m so glad you’re alright,” Snow told Charming.

Emma glanced over her shoulder at the two of them before she turned back and stared at Regina with a lot of unspoken emotion.

“I really wish I could kiss you right now,” she quietly confessed.

A hint of a blush colored Regina’s cheeks.

“I would have enjoyed it,” Regina replied with a small smirk.

“Enjoyed what,” Snow asked as she and Charming separated and slowly started to stand.

Emma and Regina both let go of the other’s hand and Emma turned to face the other two.

“Nothing,” Emma nervously answered for Regina. “She was being sarcastic.”

Regina definitely smirked that time.

“Can we get back to the palace now,” Emma asked. “Henry will want an update and I’m really not a fan of the ogres around here.”

“I think the feeling’s mutual, dear,” Regina practically purred then after a moment said, “We really should get back. It’s been a long day and I don’t want Henry to worry for much longer.”

Charming nodded and started to walk back in the direction of the palace when Snow spoke up.

“But…what about Jack?”

As if on cue, the pirate came out of the forest and dramatically waddled toward the group.

“I suppose we could always bring him back with us,” Charming suggested. “Then we can figure out a way to get him back to wherever it is he belongs.”

“We can’t exactly guarantee that until we find our own way back home,” Regina argued.

“Well, if we need a portal and he needs a portal,” Emma started, “why not use the same portal?”

Charming, Snow, and Regina looked enlightened just then. Regina hadn’t thought about it before, and she was sure it hadn’t occurred to the two idiots until then either, but that idea didn’t seem so far-fetched.

“There might be a way for that to work,” Regina said. “We’d have to be very precise about it and timing would be our biggest problem, but it could get all of us where we want to go without finding a way to create two portals. The real issue now is to figure out how we’ll make even _one_ portal.”

“Well, I say there’s no place like the palace, where there’s a roof over our heads and nice, cozy beds for a good night’s rest, to come up with a plan,” Emma stated.

“I second that,” Jack pointed at Emma when he spoke.

“Alright, back to the palace it is,” Charming started to walk forward again and the rest—except Regina—did the same.

“Wait,” Regina stopped them. “I can just poof us back there.”

“Oh. Really,” Charming asked.

“Yes. It’ll be faster and we can be assured no ogres will stop us on the way,” she explained.

“Let’s do it,” Emma said. “How does it work?”

Regina looked at Emma and grinned.

“Like this,” she said in a sultry, almost suggestive tone and a giant cloud of purple smoke puffed up from the ground and surrounded them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the long wait between updates! Hopefully reading this chapter was at least a little worth that wait. And I think I have a couple of things I need to address about this chapter in case any of you are questioning it. I brought Jack back because it wasn't really my original intention to get rid of him by him just running off in Neverland. I also really wanted to incorporate his yelling into the story because he tends to run away from things yelling loudly. Him fighting just added to that as a way of poorly attempted self-preservation. Also, I was going to have a few other characters interact on the way to the lake, but I didn't remember that until I was almost done proof reading the chapter. So that interaction is going to have to wait a little longer, but I'll definitely be working some more things into this story before it's done. There will be a couple things that have yet to happen yet in the Enchanted Forest while everyone's there, but this story is actually nearing its end very soon. I wouldn't say it's only a couple chapters from being over, but I'd give it maybe five or six chapters to its conclusion. Thanks for reading. Leave a review and let me know what you think? Pretty please? :)


End file.
